


Chasing Cats

by faeryn



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Cat Yuri Plisetsky, Clueless Otabek, Illustrated, M/M, Otayuri Mini-Bang 2019, Shapeshifting, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, otayuribb2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-20 19:57:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 31,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21287333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faeryn/pseuds/faeryn
Summary: Once Upon A Time there was a young man who lived alone with his cat. Despite receiving many propositions, he simply couldn't find anyone he wished to marry. Frustrated, he set his suitors a task; enter his house using the key affixed to his cat's collar and your proposal will be considered.What he didn't tell them was that he was a shapeshifter, and the cat they would be chasing would sometimes be him.What he didn'tknowwas that a traveller passing through would capture more than just the key...
Relationships: Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky
Comments: 62
Kudos: 139
Collections: Otayuri Mini-Bang 2019





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gilaniath](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilaniath/gifts).
  * Inspired by [[Art] Illustrations for "Chasing Cats" by Faeryn](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21287684) by [Gilaniath](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilaniath/pseuds/Gilaniath). 

> First of all I would like to give the biggest of thanks to my amazing artist Gilaniath!! She has done some absolutely incredible pieces for this fic, and I'm so unbelievably happy to have gotten to work with her for this. 
> 
> I will be posting the chapters individually over time, but I won't keep you all waiting too long! I'm just... not very organised, so I left it a little late to edit it. This means that I'm doing a cursory SPAG/coherence check as I go along, but may make more significant edits to the work later on. I will try to make sure it's as polished as it can be as quickly as possible though so that I need to make changes to as few posted chapters as possible! 
> 
> This is my very first Bang fic, and it went on way longer than it was supposed to. I hope you enjoy. Some of the chapters are very short, and some are a little longer, but I decided I wanted to break it up by POV change rather than trying to make longer chapters. Sorry!

“Leave. Me. ALONE!” Yuri screamed, slamming the front door shut and storming into the kitchen where his grandfather was fixing them some breakfast. 

“They started early today, Yurotchka.” Nikolai was a beacon of calm in Yuri’s whirlwind of fury, gently setting down a bowl before the young man and ignoring his screeching. 

“I am _ so sorry _ grandpa, I did ask them to leave me alone while you were visiting,” he whined. “I don’t know what’s wrong with these idiots, do they really think that constant harassment is the way to get me to marry them?”

Nikolai only shrugged, apparently as baffled by the behaviour as Yuri was. 

The problem was… the problem _ was _ ever since Yuri had turned eighteen a few years ago, it seemed every unmarried person in town – _ and _ a few married ones– had decided that he was the only one for them, and he simply _ must _ accept their marriage proposal. Every day he answered countless knocks at the door, every day he turned away the same damn people he’d already turned down. He knew he was beautiful —he had a mirror— but he was _ not _ a prize to be won. At least half his suitors were rich assholes from the Upper Circle who just wanted a trophy husband, someone pretty they could parade around. That or they only wanted him because he was so unattainable, his constant rejection being taken as a challenge. They somehow felt their status would rise if they were able to finally woo the town’s most eligible bachelor. 

Half of the remainder wanted him for his apothecary skills. There were many reasons he lived on the outskirts of town, outside the town walls even, and one of them was so he wouldn’t have so far to go to gather herbs and other necessary ingredients for his medicines. Yuri was the most accomplished apothecary in the region, thanks to Nikolai’s dedicated tutelage from a young age, and patients and clients travelled for days to have him treat them. He made a steady living from it, and although on principle he would always give treatment for free to anyone unable to pay, there were plenty of people who wished to monopolise his skills or gain access to the not insignificant funds he received in exchange for his work. All Yuri wanted to do was heal people; he didn’t really care for anything else. Except his cat, naturally. 

When it came down to it, only about a quarter of the people courting him at any given time were people who liked him for genuine reasons. For some, his good looks helped smooth his decidedly prickly personality, and a lot of the others were simply grateful patients who decided their gratitude was ‘love’. Yuri knew better. He could count on one hand the number of people he believed _ actually _ had feelings for him. 

He’d been telling them all for weeks that he wanted to be left alone while his grandfather visited. Yuri only got to see him a few times a year when the travelling fair made the trip worth the trouble. And yet, somehow, his suitors seemed even worse than usual this time around. It was reaching a point where he was considering passing his long-term patients to one of the less experienced apothecaries in the merchant’s district and moving back to Moscow to be closer to his grandfather. He reasoned that Yakov would probably be able to manage if Yuri left him detailed instructions and directions to the patch of specific herbs he’d need for at least one of the patients. Yuri never would. His patients meant too much to him to palm them off, but _ Goddess _ it was tempting sometimes. 

“Maybe you need to make a decision,” Nikolai’s words froze him to the core, but he held up a hand before Yuri could speak. “I don’t mean just pick someone at random, or the least of all evils. But maybe set them a… task, so to speak. One that is difficult, but not impossible, to prove that they are worthy of you. If nothing else, many of them will drop out completely simply because it’s too much effort. And, though I’ve raised you to be an honest boy, you can always set them to another task if they achieve this one too quickly, or if someone you detest wins.”

“Fuck, yes, if Leroy wins I’m pretty sure suicide would be a better option,” Yuri growled darkly. 

“Well, think about it anyway. There’s no rush to decide.” 

Potya jumped up on the table, despite knowing full well that she wasn’t allowed on there, and began lapping the milk dregs from the bottom of Yuri’s porridge bowl. Petting her fur, Yuri felt the faint glimmers of an idea begin to form in his mind…

Yuri waited for Nikolai to head home before setting his plan in motion. He… wasn’t _ entirely _ sure this was what his grandfather had had in mind when he made the suggestion. But it wasn’t like he’d expressly forbidden it either, so he really only had himself to blame if he didn’t like what Yuri came up with. 

As he’d expected, the full week of Yuri deciding not to even bother answering the door to his suitors anymore had brought everyone out in droves, and there was almost a crowd on his doorstep when he got home that afternoon. They parted like he was the Goddess Herself as he approached, and he called Potya from where she was busy hunting butterflies in his garden.

“Listen up assholes,” he shouted, standing on the step in front of his door to get a little more height on them. With Potya perched on his shoulder he didn’t make a very menacing figure, lean and wiry as he was, but that didn’t seem to matter — they gave him their full attention. 

“I’m sick of this. You’re stopping me doing my work, and it’s got to end.”

“Does this mean you’ve chosen someone?!” A voice in the small crowd called out, and Yuri snorted.

“Fuck no. I’m giving you all a _ challenge _ . Because honestly, did you really think that just asking and asking me to marry you was going to give _ any _ of you a chance?” He paused for a moment, watching a ripple of confusion pass through them. A few had already begun to walk away, the very thought of having to _ do _something already too much for them. 

“I will _ consider _ the proposal of whomever succeeds at this challenge, but I reserve the right to set another if I’m not satisfied with the winner.” He tugged a small shiny collar from his pocket, holding it up so the light could catch the golden key dangling from it. Yuri gave them a few moments to take the sight in before reaching up and clasping the collar around Potya’s neck. 

“Your task, if you want your proposal to be considered, is as simple as entering my house through the front door. To do that, you’ll need to use the key attached to this collar.”  
“So what exactly do you mean by not satisfied?” A woman’s voice rang out. 

“Well for example, if Potya is harmed, or if you don’t get the key yourself. Alright, off you go Potya!” 

Yuri held out his arm and Potya ran down it, across his garden, leapt the fence, and vanished into the forest.

“Hey! How can we catch the cat if she’s in there!” Yuri heard many murmurs of agreement.

“I don’t control where she goes,” he shrugged “you’ll just have to wait for her to come to town or go in after her, I don’t really give a fuck. Now get off my property!” 


	2. Chapter 2

Otabek drew his bow as silently as possible, eyes trained on the grouse picking through the leaf litter. He was downwind and knew he hadn’t made any sounds, so when it raised its head to look around he knew it was now or never. Loosing the arrow on his next exhale, he bit back a muffled curse as the bird took flight, the arrow doing nothing but pinning a couple of tail feathers to the ground. Now he  _ did _ swear aloud, stamping over to where the bird had been to retrieve his arrow. It wouldn’t have flown far, but it would definitely have kept running from whatever spooked it. Looking around, Otabek sought the reason he had lost his dinner - hoping it wasn’t a threat to him, too. 

After a moment he spotted it, or at least its  two blue eyes peering at him from a bush. They looked feline, so that would certainly explain it. It was probably on the hunt for its own dinner too.

Well, maybe they would both get lucky. 

He knew he’d seen some other animal tracks a little further in, and he had set up some traps near his camp that morning so even if he wasn’t able to get anything else maybe one of those would net him at least a small meal. He was running low on vegetables, and this forest was unfamiliar to him so he wasn’t exactly sure if he would be able to find anything today if they didn’t. Oh well, it wouldn’t be the first time another animal had caused him to go hungry. And the more he explored the more confident he would be finding something else, so he’d probably do better tomorrow. 

Creeping back down the track he kept the light breeze in his face and sought out another hapless creature to fill his pot. He could feel the feline’s eyes on him as he left it, but he wasn’t terribly worried. There were no cats big enough to cause him concern in this part of the world, and if it was comfortable enough to be around that probably meant no other large predators to worry about. Not having to fear wolves or bears was a relief, though it wouldn’t make him any less wary. That was one of the things about the wilderness; it could change in a moment, and leave you high and dry if you weren’t on constant watch. Ah well, if the worst came to it he had a few coins and some spare pelts, and he’d seen a town wall over the top of the trees in a clearing earlier, so perhaps if he got truly desperate he’d be able to trade them for some food. Maybe even a night’s lodging. Much as Otabek loved his outdoor life, sometimes it was nice to take a bath in  _ warm _ water for a change. 

Lost in thought as he was, Otabek didn’t realise it was beginning to get late until he saw a movement in the undergrowth and realised it was much too dark to see what it was. Sighing, he unstrung his bow and began to make his way back to his camp. There were a couple of potatoes and half a turnip in his pack, he could probably make a vegetable stew at least. 

Checking his traps as he went, Otabek found himself lucky after all. A young jackrabbit had been tempted by the fresh herbs he’d gathered for bait, and was going to make a fine meal.    
“Sorry, friend, but we all need to eat,” he murmured as he skinned it. He felt that watchful gaze on his back again, and looked around until he spotted the glint of the cat’s eyes in the light of his campfire. 

“You hungry too?” With a few practiced cuts of his knife, Otabek took a few chunks of flesh from the rabbit and tossed them towards the cat. As it walked warily forward he noted that it was a beautiful cream and brown colourpoint… something. Cat breeds weren’t really his strongest suit, mainly because they tended to fall into the categories of ‘somebody’s pet’ or ‘potential predator’ so he gave them a wide berth. This one looked healthy and well groomed, so was most likely a pet. He couldn’t make much else out in the low light, and the cat had only come close enough to the fire to eat the tidbits he’d thrown at it. 

“Pretty little thing, aren’t you,” he murmured, finishing his preparation and skewering the meat over the fire. There wasn’t a lot more to do now while he waited for his food to cook, so he occupied himself with cutting the bits of rabbit he wasn’t going to eat into bite-sized morsels and throwing them to the cat, who voraciously devoured every one. 

“Glad to see you’re not a fussy pet.” Otabek chuckled, wiping his hands while the cat finished the last piece then sat down to wash its face. It was definitely a pet, it was far too comfortable around humans not to be. 

_ “Potya!” _ An unfamiliar voice echoed through the trees and Otabek turned, glad of the chameleon spell he had cast around his little camp. It wasn’t that he disliked people, exactly, but he found it was easier to deal with them on his own terms rather than having them bumbling their way into his camp and trashing his shit. This one only worked on anything bigger than a toddler, since there was no point in expending the magic on a more complex spell just to keep out little animals that couldn’t do much harm anyway. 

“Where the fuck are you, you little shit?” The voice sounded irate, and Otabek crept to the edge of the spell’s active range to peer into the darkness. He was surprised when the cat trotted past him, giving a loud miaow as soon as it exited the spell circle - clever little thing. Its fluffy tail stood upright, curled at the end as it walked forward, calling its master. 

_ “There _ you are, you naughty girl. Where the heck have you been all day? I know I said to go and hide, but I didn’t mean fuck off completely,” her foul-mouthed owner had come into view now, and quick as a wink she ran up his body to sit on his shoulder. Otabek had to cover his mouth to keep from speaking, realising just in time that it would look weird for him to suddenly become visible if he were to step outside the circle, or worse if he were to speak from within it. The man was stunningly beautiful, though, which had caught him off guard. His long, straw-coloured hair looked soft in the waning sunlight, and his features were so delicate Otabek wasn’t  _ completely _ sure he wasn’t secretly observing some faerie prince. 

The (probably) not-faerie looked around for a moment, lifting his head as if sniffing the air - could he smell smoke from the campfire on the cat’s fur? Then shook himself and began to walk back in the direction he came from, seemingly unconcerned by the darkness. He began to chatter at the cat –Potya– and she miaowed back at him as if holding a conversation with him. The exchange brought a smile to Otabek’s face as he watched the retreating form melt into the darkness. Well, there certainly were some interesting people in the world. 


	3. Chapter 3

“You understand what you need to do, right Potya?” Yuri looked at her from where she lay sprawled across the comforter on his bed. It was handmade by one of his former patients and he was very fond of it, but had given up telling her she wasn’t allowed on it. She looked back at him with an expression that didn’t just  _ imply _ ‘are you fucking seriously questioning my intelligence’, it outright said it. 

“I know, I know, you’re the smartest cat in the world. Just stay away from the windows no matter how many sky raisins you see, okay?” Potya just let her head roll back down onto the bed, her tail flicking as she deliberately ignored him. Well, fine. Yuri let out a long-suffering sigh and went back to the kitchen to put his plan in motion. The front door was locked up tight and would stay that way until either his suitors got bored and moved on to easier targets, or until someone managed to actually get the key. So, back door it was. Yuri had cut out a panel from the door and installed hinges on a light piece of wood to allow Potya to get in and out as she wished some time ago, and as he shifted into cat form he was grateful he had that foresight. Rigging some way to close and lock the door after himself with paws would have been a real hassle. Twinkling collar firmly affixed to his neck, he trotted out into the morning light and stretched languidly. Normally he’d head right into the forest, but that would defeat the point of this exercise, so instead he made his way into town with his fluffy brown tail held high. 

Abstractly, he wondered if anyone would notice. His Potya transformation was fairly perfect, but he’d never been able to get the eyes right. His were green, while hers were blue, and it irritated him to no end that he just couldn’t get his eyes to change. Grandpa’s full body transformations were flawless, but when Yuri had asked him for advice he’d only shrugged and pointed out that  _ he _ wasn’t trying to transform into an animal he had a close relationship with. But that should make it easier, right? He didn’t have time to worry about that right now though, since he could see that someone had noticed him wandering around - and it was one of the usual suspects. 

The man called Potya’s name and began to hurry over, but Yuri was faster and turned to run, disappearing into an alley in a flash. This was going to be  _ so much fun. _ The guy’s shout had alerted a few more people, some just bystanders who weren’t at all interested in him and the resigned expression on their faces amused him. He hadn’t seen JJ Leroy yet, and he was glad of it. Yuri wasn’t 100% sure he’d be able to avoid JJ, the man was a sneaky fuck. 

“Potya! Get over here!” A woman shouted, one of the Crispino twins, maybe? He looked her way, acknowledging that he’d seen her, then turned and sauntered away in the opposite direction. He held his tail high, knowing that it gave him an air of indifference - Potya used that on him regularly. 

“Heeeere puss puss puss!” Another voice rang out and Yuri just managed to resist rolling his eyes. That wasn’t exactly a catlike expression, after all. Using his feline skills to their fullest, he ran up onto the canopy in front of a shop and leapt up onto the thatched roof. Now that he was out of their reach he felt a little more confident about being able to escape them. His right ear tingled and he stopped himself short as a blast of magic flew past his nose. Ah, they were going to  _ cheat _ were they? Turning to hiss at the culprit, he jumped across to the next building and began to work his way through the rooftops of the town. 

A few of the older townsfolk greeted him as he passed, mostly people hanging laundry on the lines that stretched between buildings. Mischievously he used these paths like a seasoned tightrope walker, hopping over pegs and only knocking a  _ few  _ articles to the dirt below. Most of the people were good-natured about it though, and a few even cheered ‘Potya’ on. Apparently the news had spread throughout town about his little challenge and those not interested in participating seemed to be rooting for his cat not his suitors. 

He led everyone a merry chase through town for a few hours right up until JJ  _ fucking _ Leroy showed up. He’d been in the manor all morning so seemed determined to make up for lost time. 

“I’ll get you, little kitten!” He cried, spurring his horse forward heedless of the people diving out of the way beneath it. He was such an insufferable jerk and Yuri hissed at him as he scampered across the rooftops trying to outrun the charger. 

The trouble was, JJ was one of the people who genuinely seemed to like him. He was already a prince, so there was no status for him to win, and his court physician had skills that very nearly rivalled Yuri’s, so he had no need of his talents. Not only that, but he was one of the wealthiest people in the region, so it wasn’t even exploiting his skills for money that could be the reason. Yuri wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t just in it for the  _ chase, _ but he wasn’t taking any risks. JJ was a wild card, one that Yuri didn’t want to risk. Seeing the chaos JJ was inflicting on the townspeople infuriated Yuri, and he decided that today’s adventure had to be over. This was meant to be harmless fun, but with JJ involved all bets were off. 

With one final angry miaow, lashing his tail, he scrambled across the short distance between the last storefront and the wall, and vanished out through the town gates. JJ and a few others followed, and he knew that if he went home they would only sit and wait outside for him to come back out. Making a snap decision, Yuri fled into the forest. At least here JJ wouldn’t be able to bring that stupid horse, and in the low light Yuri would find it much easier to escape their notice. It didn’t matter how many spells they knew,  _ this _ was his domain, and he knew they’d be utterly lost in minutes. Stupid townies who didn’t even appreciate the land they lived off would never be able to beat him in the forest. 

True to his expectations, the sounds of pursuit soon faded and he found himself just wandering. He’d hang out in here until the sun began to set, then he’d be safe to return home and let Potya go out to hunt. She loved to laze around all day, but would get antsy if she wasn’t able to head out at all - and that would mean she’d start destroying his furniture again. 

The smell of fire piqued his interest and he followed his nose to find the source. People wandered through the forest all the time, usually travellers, but occasionally bandits set up camp and Yuri would very much like to know which it was. Travellers tended to use the road… 

He crept forward through the undergrowth until he saw the little camp, whose inhabitant had his back to him.

At first Yuri did a double-take, since the stranger had a very similar haircut to Leroy, but his clothes were much more humble than the crimson-and-gold JJ preferred. 

This man wore clothes that were far closer to those Yuri himself wore, when he wasn’t masquerading as Potya. Leather and fur, tanned hides, but without the little embellishments that Yuri liked to include. He wasn’t as showy as JJ, but he did like to look nice. The man was gutting and scaling fish, clearly he’d had a good morning at the river, and Yuri couldn’t resist creeping closer to get a better look. That and the smell was making his stomach rumble - he hadn’t eaten since that morning and right now he was a cat, with a cat’s appetite. 

“Oh, hello again little kitty,” the man said, and Yuri started. Hello  _ again? _


	4. Chapter 4

Otabek felt the animal enter his spell circle before he saw it, but he wasn’t worried. If it was small enough not to trigger the spell then it was too small to harm him at all. It was behind him and a little to his left when it entered, so perhaps it would pass by without approaching. After a few more minutes of gutting fish he saw the little cream and brown colourpoint he’d met the night before, and couldn’t keep a smile from crossing his face.

“Oh, hello again little kitty,” he said to her, tossing her a piece of the fish he was cleaning. She seemed startled by his sudden words but leapt on it and devoured it with the same enthusiasm as she had the rabbit last night, and Otabek felt warmed that she had come back. Probably drawn by the smell.

“At least there’s a little variety in the food I have, right? It was Potya wasn’t it?” Otabek took a moment to study her now that it wasn’t so dark. Her face and tail were dark brown, with green eyes that contrasted starkly with the colouring. Her legs were brown too, the dark fur creeping up a different length on each leg. It was a very pretty colouring, and he told her so. 

The cat, Potya, sat within food-throwing distance and watched him intently. There was an almost human intelligence behind her eyes, and he wondered briefly if the man she’d gone off with last night was a witch, and she his familiar. 

“Where’s your master today, hm? You’d better not stay out too late again, or he’ll start wondering what’s keeping you,” he threw her another bit of fish. Before she started on it he was sure she  _ snorted, _ but it was probably just a weird cat noise he wasn’t familiar with. 

“I’m happy for the company, little miss, but I’d really prefer it if humans didn’t barge in on me no matter how handsome they are. I’m moving on in a few days anyway, I promise I won’t cause trouble for your human. So, is it a deal? You can come by whenever you want and I’ll share what I have as long as you don’t bring him along too.” 

She regarded him steadily, green eyes boring into his as if she was seriously considering his proposal. Well, the man had talked to her as if she understood human speech so he would do her the same courtesy. After a while she tilted her head to one side and miaowed at him. Whether that was an agreement, or just a request for the bit of fish guts he currently held, Otabek decided to take it as both. 

“Alright then, deal. How do you feel about grilled fish for lunch?” 

Stoking up his little campfire, Otabek grilled the fish and then laid one out on one of his spare plates, placing it on the floor a little ways away from the fire. Once he’d returned to his seat the cat approached warily before beginning to devour the fish with enthusiasm. Otabek chatted away to her while they ate, telling her how nice it was to have someone to share a meal with and other inane things. It seemed rude not to, somehow. Once they were finished and she sat cleaning her paws and face fastidiously, Otabek washed their things in the little river he’d caught the fish in and packed them away. 

“I’m going to go see what else I can catch, want to come with me?” He didn’t expect her to, she still seemed much too wary of him, but he felt compelled to offer the invitation anyway. She tilted her head and miaowed at him, but then disappeared off into the undergrowth. Ah well, maybe she would come back again tomorrow. 

Otabek gathered his bow and the rest of his hunting gear, when the little cat reappeared from the bushes. She miaowed at him again more forcefully, then vanished again. Did she want him to follow her? There was a little path where she’d gone, maybe a deer track of some kind, so he had no trouble doing so. And, yes, there she stood in the middle of the trail waiting for him. 

“Okay little kitten, I understand,” he smiled at her and followed as she trotted ahead of him up the path. 

They were walking into the light breeze, so Otabek wondered if she was showing him where he might be able to catch them some dinner. That seemed logical, but he would have followed her regardless, just out of sheer curiosity. After a little time walking she darted off the path and Otabek carefully picked his way through the thicker undergrowth to keep up with her, following the fluffy tip of her tail that stuck out above the low bushes she was creeping through. This went on for a little while, too, and then finally she stopped and looked expectantly at him. Stepping forward, Otabek leaned past the trees to look ahead, and hopefully find out what she had brought him to see. 

It took a moment for him to spot it, but finally he realised he was looking at a pair of fawns lying together in the grass between a couple of trees. They couldn’t be more than a few weeks old, and they hadn’t noticed him or Potya yet. The fawns seemed drowsy in the late afternoon warmth, likely waiting for their mother to come back at sunset. At his side Potya was still looking at him, then clearly lost her patience and nudged the bottom of his bow. She seemed to be telling him that this was his prey. 

“Oh, shit, no, little kitten,” he murmured, careful to keep his voice low. With one eye on the fawns, he backed up until they were out of sight then crouched down to get closer to the cat’s level. 

“It’s not right to kill babies like that. Not for humans, anyway. I know animals take what they can get, but I won’t do it. Sorry, little one, I’ll find us something else for dinner, okay?” 

The cat continued to look at him, but she didn’t seem at all concerned that he wasn’t going to kill the fawns. Rising back to his feet, Otabek began to make his way back to the trail. It was probably the fawns’ mother that had made it, she’d probably been hiding her little ones in this clearing for a while. Knowing there were does with fawns in the forest made Otabek think twice about hunting deer, now. It was always a risk with hunting, orphaning some poor creature that would inevitably succumb to other predators or starvation, but he did his best not to do it wilfully. He actually felt a little disappointed at the cat just for the suggestion, though he knew she was an animal and didn’t think like he did. Still, she had almost fooled him into thinking she had human-like intelligence for a while there, and he knew he had to be more careful with his assumptions. 

Looking back for a moment he saw Potya following him, apparently curious about what he was going to do now he had rejected her offering. Well, he would show her that it was possible to catch your dinner without taking advantage of the helpless.


	5. Chapter 5

Shifting back into his human form and throwing on the clothes he had abandoned that morning, Yuri stroked Potya’s fur thoughtfully.

“I met your forest friend today,” he said, conversationally, “he seems like a decent guy. I even took him to Deirdre’s fawns and heavily implied they’d make a good dinner, but he refused point blank.”   
Potya rolled over, purring, and Yuri sensibly pulled his hand away. He wasn’t falling for the ‘belly rub’ trick. 

“Shame he seems to only be planning on sticking around for a few days, he’d probably run rings around the rest of them,” Yuri laughed. Potya fixed him with a curious look, and he shook his head quickly. “Nothing like that! It would just be entertaining, that’s all.” She didn’t look like she believed him, and with a languid stretch she hopped off the bed and Yuri heard her pitter-patter down the stairs before the sound of the cat flap indicated she’d gone outside. 

He sighed and flopped down on the bed, leaning into the warm space she’d left behind. He’d intended to tease everyone a little more today, but JJ’s actions had actually made him rethink the whole thing. It was supposed to be a bit of fun, but if JJ wasn’t careful he was going to seriously hurt someone. And, Yuri had to concede reluctantly, JJ would probably be devastated if that happened. He just got a little tunnel vision at times. Sighing, Yuri knew he was going to have to do something about that. 

_ ‘Oi, Viktor, you awake?’ _ He was out of practice with this telepathy spell, but he knew Viktor used it often and would strengthen the link.

_ ‘Yurio! I am, I just got finished with a meeting. How are you, cousin?’ _ The reply came almost instantly.

_ ‘Don’t call me that,’ _ he grumbled.

_ ‘Cousin?’ _

_ ‘That too, we’re  _ barely _ related. And you know I hate it when you call me Yurio.’ _

_ ‘No promises. Was there something you wanted?’ _

_ ‘Yeah. Prince Leroy stomped around town today with that ridiculous warhorse of his. Can you tell him he can’t do that anymore? He’s gonna hurt someone.’ _

_ ‘Well maybe if you married him you wouldn’t need me to rein him in,’ _ Viktor said, teasingly,  _ ‘but yes, I’ll tell him.’ _

_ ‘I’d die before marrying that asshole,’ _ Yuri shot back incredulously,  _ ‘and-’ _

_ ‘Goodnight Yurio!’ _

Viktor closed the link before he could continue, and Yuri growled at the ceiling. Viktor was technically something like his third cousin twice removed, but he sometimes acted more like they were brothers, and it pissed Yuri off. He just wanted to live his life without any of Viktor’s dramatics, and getting summoned up to the manor at random for ‘family time’ pissed him off. Viktor was a minor lord who was just fortunate enough to own a lot of land, but he’d married Prince Katsuki of Hasetsu a few years ago and that had turned the quiet little town of Petersburg into a bit of a diplomatic hub, since although he wasn’t next in line to the throne he still had responsibilities to his people. That had, of course, only brought more idiots to town to bother Yuri so he wasn’t exactly thrilled about it, and still resented Katsuki for introducing JJ.

Shaking his head to clear the residual fog from the telepathy spell, he realised he’d spent the whole day messing around. He decided he’d better get some work done before tomorrow or his patients were going to suffer. Reluctantly, Yuri went into his workroom to get started before he had chance to doze off or talk himself out of it. 

Yuri let Potya take a shift of being chased around the next morning, since he had to stop slacking off and visit his patients. JJ passed him with a subdued smile, and Yuri guessed that Viktor had given him a real talking to. He couldn’t resist shooting a mean smirk back, but didn’t slow enough for JJ to strike up a conversation. After visiting his regular patients and selling a few desirable herb mixes to Yakov, who was perfectly capable of mixing them himself but was getting old and didn’t enjoy traipsing through the forest hunting for the ingredients like he used to, Yuri set himself up at a table in the little town square so anyone who needed treatment could come and see him. Within minutes a man had come to ask him to visit his husband, who was unable to get out of bed, and Yuri ended up spending most of the rest of his morning discussing a treatment plan with him. He got a delicious lunch out of it, though –the only method of payment the couple had, especially with one of them currently too sick to go to work– so he counted it as a win. 

Yuri called to Potya as he began his walk home and quick as a whistle she was running up his back to sit on his bony shoulder with her tail around his neck. Clearly, she was tired of being chased. 

“Busy morning?” He asked, and Potya smacked him in the face with her tail by way of reply. “Alright, alright, you can relax for the rest of the day. I need to work, but I never said you’d be made available at all times for the ‘contestants,’” he snickered.

As if that permission was all she needed, Potya leapt from his shoulder and disappeared through the town gates, clearly intending to spend a good afternoon sleeping on his bed. Yuri was only going to be spending the rest of the day in his workshop anyway, it didn’t really matter if she was around or not. 

He was finally sitting down to eat dinner when a sharp knock at his back door startled him into dropping his fork.

“What the fuck?” Yuri muttered, getting up to answer it. 

“Yuri!” Mila walked into his house before he got to the door and immediately helped herself to some of the leftovers still sitting in the pot over the fire. “So, you’ve got the whole town abuzz.”

“Don’t care,” he growled.

“Come on, you haven’t been by to see me since before Nikolai arrived, are you so surprised I’d come to see you?” 

Yuri made a non-committal sound but allowed her to sit at the table while he started on his late dinner. Potya, the traitor, trotted in at the sound of Mila’s voice and began twining around her legs as if they were best friends. 

Mila picked her up and cooed at her in a baby voice before unclipping the key from her collar. 

“Hey, does this mean I have to marry you now?” She teased.

“Honestly, better you than  _ some _ of the assholes in this town…” 

She gave him a sympathetic look, knowing the hassle he’d been having with the constant suitors. He frowned back, hating the thought of her pitying him. 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure the right person will come along before you even know it!” 

“I won’t hold my breath…” 

Yuri picked at his food and let the silence stretch between them. The truth was he was beginning to have his doubts. Neither he nor Potya especially enjoyed being chased all around town, and he couldn’t trust his suitors not to try to harm her - maybe it would be worth asking Mila to look after some of his patients for a few days so he could get this whole thing over with. It had only been a few days but he was already tired of the game, maybe it would be better to just  _ let _ someone catch him and marry them rather than make it more complicated than it needed to be. He shuddered. 

“I can hear you brooding,” Mila laughed and flicked his nose, and suddenly he was glad she was there. She was as annoying as an older sister sometimes, but there was nobody he’d rather share his troubles with. Taking a deep breath, he launched into his long list of complaints, knowing that Mila would listen carefully and either give him good advice or tell him to stop being a brat. It was refreshing.


	6. Chapter 6

Not seeing the little cat the day before had thrown Otabek off a little. He’d expected her to come back, and had saved some meat to share with her just in case, so her absence left him feeling like something was missing. He was going to have to move on before long and a small part of him didn’t want to go without at least saying goodbye. She’d been a sweet companion for a couple of days, and not seeing her before he went left a sour taste in the back of his mouth for some reason. It was probably the way she stared at him with those green (or were they blue?) eyes with almost human intelligence, it made him feel like she would be mortally offended if he just up and left. 

“You’re going crazy, all this being alone, Otabek. Look at you, you’re talking to yourself now.” He chuckled and shook his head, resolving to take his hides into town to trade today. Some actual human company was probably all he needed, especially since he’d apparently started projecting his ‘human interaction’ quota onto someone’s pet cat. 

The early dawn had left a light dew over everything, which was rapidly evaporating in the morning sun, and there was no time like the present. The sooner he went into town the sooner he could come back, and there was no reason to delay. Except, except… what if the cat came back today and he wasn’t here? 

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Pulling the roll of hides from his pack, Otabek checked he had his purse and a small bag for carrying anything he bought back with him and headed into town before any more ridiculous ideas could spring to mind. 

Unsurprisingly, plenty of people in the town were already awake and going about their day when he arrived. The sun was barely peeking over the top of the walls but as Otabek entered, after explaining who he was and what he was doing here to the guards, he found the streets full of the sounds and smells of town. It was nice enough to be around other humans for a change, but there were  _ reasons _ he roamed around. A still-warm sweet bun from the baker, who eagerly introduced himself as Leo despite Otabek not actually asking, with one of his last few coins helped alleviate some of his anxiety, but he still wanted to get done as quickly as possible. Some directions and a short conversation with Lilia, the woman who ran the small market, later and Otabek was set up on an empty table close to the end of the row. It wasn’t the ideal spot, but in a small market square like this it was better than nothing, and it hadn’t cost him anything so he really couldn’t complain. Setting up was the work of moments, and then all he had to do was sit back and wait for the actual shoppers to show up. 

A few of the rowdier sellers were already beginning to hawk their wares, but Otabek had no interest in calling out to passers-by, not this early in the morning anyway. If he needed to he’d start the hard sell later on, but for now he was content to chew his roll and people-watch. Someone came along to set up on the stall beside him, but he paid no attention to them and they didn’t greet him either. In fact, it wasn’t until someone approached the other stallholder and he replied that Otabek bothered to glance over - the voice was familiar. 

In the light of day the blond man who had spoken to the cat a few days ago seemed far less otherworldly, though no less beautiful, and he talked his customer through the blend of herbs he was selling him with the knowledge of a skilled apothecary. His job, then? Otabek had no more chance to observe him, however, since a man came to look at his skins and furs just then and he was lost in haggling for quite some time. 

“You got a better deal out of him than the last trapper who came through here,” his neighbour observed when the customers had both left. The man was leaning on his table with the easy air of someone in complete comfort with his surroundings, and Otabek was momentarily envious. He felt like a wooden board by comparison. 

“Oh?” He answered, stupidly. 

“Mm, he’s notoriously frugal. He’d never pay a single copper for a damn thing if he didn’t have to, but I guess that’s just how he was raised. Yuri,” the man stuck his hand out and Otabek realised he was introducing himself.

“Otabek,” he replied, shaking Yuri’s hand. 

“Not much of a talker are you,” Yuri noted with a wry grin.

“Not really,” Otabek smiled back, not offended at the observation. “Am I asking too much, then?” 

“Nah. That’s just Katsuki, he comes from a pretty poor country and he’s not used to having gold to throw around, so he still tries to spend as little as possible.” 

“Ah, I see.” 

Otabek wracked his brain trying to think of something more to say so he didn’t sound like a  _ complete _ moron, but his brain was helpfully absent at that moment. At least he hadn’t been totally monosyllabic - saved in part by his own name, though. Urgh, people were  _ hard. _ More customers rescued him, then, and he’d never been more grateful in his life. 

Around noon Yuri vanished with a brief request for Otabek to watch his ‘shit’ and returned a little while later with a couple of steaming pastries filled with meat, which he called ‘pirozhki’ when he handed one over. Surprised, Otabek offered to pay him for it but he just waved a hand dismissively. 

“Everyone should try pirozhki at least once; they’re not as good as the ones my Grandpa makes but they’ll do for a taste.” 

They were indeed excellent, and Otabek managed to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth long enough to tell Yuri so. He simply nodded in reply, licked his fingers, and turned back to his wares. The clear dismissal would have offended Otabek, but he wasn’t exactly much of a people person himself, so in a way he was grateful not to end up stuck in a loop of idle chit-chat when he was here to sell his skins. 

Despite the forest nearby he was doing remarkably well, as it happened. Of course, the more exotic things went first as locals gleefully snapped up things they would ordinarily be unable to get their hands on, but even more common items like deer skins were selling well. Apparently the people who lived here weren’t very interested in hunting their own meat, though that was obvious given the number of meat sellers. It was much easier to butcher an animal without carefully skinning it first, if you only wanted it for the meat, so Otabek supposed the local hunters were more interested in keeping the people fed rather than keeping them warm. That suited him, though. 

As the day faded into early evening, a curious miaow drew his attention back to Yuri and he was surprised to see his little cat friend sitting nearby. She looked up at him with her usual intense expression, head tilted to one side in a way that made him smile. 

“I’m sorry, little friend, I don’t have anything for you today,” he chuckled, crouching down and holding out a hand. Maybe she’d come to him in a more familiar environment. To his surprise, she did trot forward and sniff his outstretched fingers, though she otherwise kept her distance. 

“Don’t beg, Potya,” Yuri chided without looking, “you’ll give the idiots ideas.”

“Ah, sorry, I’ve been feeding her here and there. She’s wandered into my camp from time to time.” Otabek felt a little sheepish; he probably shouldn’t be feeding strangers pets, after all.

“I know, it’s fine. I wasn’t saying  _ you’re _ an idiot.”

He knows? Otabek squinted at him for a moment thoughtfully, but decided not to question it. People had strange bonds with their animals, after all, and Yuri definitely seemed like the kind of devoted owner who would somehow instinctively know that his cat had eaten something other than what he fed her. 

The cat in question had graduated him to being close enough to scritch gently behind her ears, and he smiled down at her indulgently. It was hard not to fall a little bit in love with such a sweet animal. 

“Funny,” Yuri remarked, and when Otabek looked up he was leaning on his table with an odd look on his face.

“What?” Otabek had a momentary flash of concern - he hadn’t exactly asked if he could touch Potya, after all. 

“Oh she just doesn’t usually like people, no matter how much they feed her. She pretty much only likes me and one of my friends, even Grandpa has a tough time getting her to let him touch her, and she’s known  _ him _ her whole life. So…” he shrugged, “funny.” He lapsed into silence but didn’t turn away, leaving Otabek feeling a little self-conscious under the scrutiny. 

“Maybe… because I’m always around animals?” Otabek offered, feeling oddly like he needed to excuse this unusual behaviour, and Yuri laughed.

“Who knows, she’s a cat, she does whatever the fuck she wants whenever the fuck she wants, I’ve given up trying to figure out why she does what she does. You’re just a little shithead aren’t you?” This last part was directed to Potya in a baby voice, and Otabek ducked his head to hide a smile. 

Potya sniffed the air and stalked over to her master, rubbing herself against his legs before looking up at him and miaowing again.

“Alright, alright, I guess it is getting pretty late. Let’s go home,” Yuri began to pack his things away and before long he was standing in front of Otabek with his hand stuck out. “Nice to meet you Otabek, if you stick around another week I’ll be back again - save me a table, yeah?” 

With that he was gone, Potya riding on his shoulder like it was totally normal. Otabek blinked a few times as Yuri vanished into the crowd, and realised that he was definitely going to be here another week. 


	7. Chapter 7

Yuri whistled brightly as he strolled through town laden with bags full of herbal remedies and medicinal poultices. He didn’t usually bring so much but his game with Potya had taken up a lot of time this week so he anticipated more customers than usual, since he hadn’t done as many house calls. Besides, the more stock he had the longer he would be able to spend at the market. The stranger from the woods—Otabek—would definitely be there, if what he’d told ‘Potya’ that week was to be believed, and there was something about him that fascinated Yuri. 

He had to admit, quietly and only to himself, that he’d spent more time this week following Otabek around in the forest than he probably should have. It wasn’t that he was particularly fond of raw meat scraps, although he ate them since he knew Potya would, he just found the man’s company quite pleasant. 

The way he spoke in a low, gentle voice to ‘Potya’ was nice, and he always talked as if he was speaking to another human, never insulting his feline friend’s intelligence. He wasn’t pushy either and never demanded more from him than he was willing to give. If he wanted to pet ‘Potya’ he would hold out his hand and let Yuri come to him, and if he didn’t he appeared unfazed and respected the boundaries made clear to him. And when 

Yuri  _ did _ allow him a brief touch he was gentle, and spoke kind words in an awed voice as if he couldn’t believe he was being allowed to stroke this magnificent creature.

More than anything, though, Yuri appreciated the respect he showed to the forest. He never took from her more than she could afford to give, and seemed content to eat whatever dried meat or vegetables he carried in his pack if he wasn’t able to find a meal by fair means. His encampment was small and unobtrusive so that when he left there would only be the barest hint that he had ever been there in the first place. Yuri liked that about him, maybe more than he would admit.

In his enthusiasm Yuri had risen before the sun to gather as many things as he could to take to the market, which meant he was one of the first people there. The table he’d set up on the week before was available, as was Otabek’s, so he began laying things out ready for the early shoppers. He was so engrossed in his task that it wasn’t until he heard a thud on the next table over that he looked up.

“Hey, that table’s taken!” He glared hard at Phichit, an artist of some small renown. 

“Oh, okay? Sorry Yuri! Hey, do you have any of that muscle rub with you? My hands been cramping up again lately.” 

Making a sale soothed Yuri’s ruffled feathers, and Phichit moved over to another empty table.  The sun was well over the walls when finally,  _ finally _ Otabek strolled up and Yuri was surprised to see Potya trotting along next to him with her tail high in the air, the tip curled just a little.

“Traitor,” Yuri said to her as they approached, though he still knelt down to tickle her behind the ears. 

“Sorry.” Otabek’s small smile made Yuri’s mouth quirk up in response. 

“For being late, or stealing my cat?” 

Otabek shrugged and glanced around the market. “Both.” 

Yuri opened his mouth to say something more but Otabek had already turned away to begin setting his things out on his table, so he shut it again with a click of teeth. Instead he fussed Potya a little more until she grew tired of the attention and sauntered away to do whatever she did when she was bored of Yuri. 

“She’s a very nice cat,” Otabek said a little later during a lull in traffic. 

“She’s a little shit, is what she is,” Yuri shot back with a grin, “but so am I so I can’t judge.”

Otabek surprised him with a loud laugh, and he frowned. He didn’t like being laughed at. “I’m starting to get that,” Otabek said after his momentary outburst.

“Are you calling me a little shit?” Yuri narrowed his eyes, but couldn’t help the smirk on his face.

“Uh…” An unidentifiable emotion flickered across Otabek’s face, gone in an instant, then he seemed to reach a decision. “Well, they do say pets take after their owners, so if the shoe fits I say wear it,” there was a challenge sparkling in his eyes and _oh…_ Yuri very much wanted to take him up on it. 

“Yurio!” 

Yuri flinched, he’d been having such a good time flirting with Otabek that hearing Viktor’s voice was like a bucket of ice water to his soul. 

“Viktor,” he snarled, turning to face his relative.

“It’s so good to see you in town, cousin!” Viktor was dressed surprisingly modestly, considering his usual flair, but Katsuki hovering behind him explained that. Despite technically being the one with the higher status, Prince Katsuki of Hasetsu was very down to earth. It was one of the things that made him so annoyingly likeable. 

“I fucking live here?” Yuri side-eyed Otabek, wondering what he would think of this exchange, but he seemed to be just looking on impassively. 

“Yurio you  _ barely _ live here, you don’t even live inside the walls! You visit your patients and that’s it,  _ Yuuuuriiiio _ I want to see you more,” Viktor was pouting now, like a goddamn child. 

Yuri gestured at himself, “Fine, you see me, good enough? Great. Bye.”

Viktor’s pout grew and he opened his mouth as if to start whining again but Katsuki,  _ blessed, blessed Katsuki, _ stepped hard on his foot.

“Vitya,” his voice had a note of warning and, like a marionette with the strings cut, Viktor deflated.

“Right, right, that’s not why we’re here. Yurio, you’re coming to dinner tonight!” He beamed, clearly thrilled with himself.

Yuri blinked dumbly. “Like hell I am.”

“Of course you are! I know! Why don’t you bring your friend!” Viktor stuck his hand out to Otabek, who shook it after only a beat of surprise. “I’m Viktor, Yurio’s cousin.”

“We are  _ barely _ related,” Yuri hissed the correction, “and my name’s  _ not fucking Yurio.” _

“Nice to meet you,” Otabek said solemnly, not acknowledging Yuri, “Yuri hasn’t mentioned any local family.”

Yuri could have kissed him right there and damn the consequences. 

“Well you  _ must _ come to dinner then!” Viktor clapped his hands together as if it was a done deal.

Otabek looked over at Yuri for some cue, possibly not wanting to appear blatantly rude by refusing but also reluctant to accept and lock Yuri into something he clearly didn’t want to do.

He groaned and hung his head.  _ “Fine. _ I’ll come to dinner, and if Otabek has absolutely nothing better to do and wants to come as well then he can, but I’m not gonna force him and if you try to I won’t come for a  _ year.” _

“I have no plans,” Otabek said with a half shrug. 

“See you later then!” Viktor looked insufferably pleased with himself and Yuri was momentarily afraid of what he’d gotten them both into.

“You don’t have to come,” he said after Viktor had finally wandered off, “it’ll be long and boring and Viktor will talk the entire time, I only go because he starts turning up at my house otherwise.”

“I thought you might appreciate the company, but if you’d rather I didn’t I can definitely make my excuses,” Otabek looked pensive as he fussed with the things on his table.

The thought of going through the evening with Viktor without Otabek made Yuri’s stomach drop. “I definitely appreciate the company, I just don’t feel like inflicting Viktor on anyone if I can avoid it.”

Otabek gave him a long, hard look. “Do you want me to come or not?” 

“Please?” Yuri couldn’t quite keep the desperation out of his voice.

“Then I’ll be there.”


	8. Chapter 8

Otabek didn’t exactly have any fancy clothes to wear to a sit down dinner, he did most of his socialising in taverns and roadside inns that didn’t so much have a dress code as  _ recommended _ certain attire for patrons’ own safety. But he did have a blue shirt with gold trim that a client had given him in part exchange for some work a few towns back. It was the nicest thing he owned, so it would have to do. 

He’d be lying if he’d claimed that going up to the manor house wasn’t at least a little bit terrifying, but since he’d arranged to meet Yuri at his house and walk up together it was a little less daunting. Even if it did leave him feeling a little more like a gentleman caller than ‘random traveller roped in for reasons unknown.’ 

“Back door!” Yuri’s voice floated through the open window at Otabek’s knock on the front, and by the time he’d sidled his way around the cottage Yuri was yanking the door open with probably more force than was necessary. Breathtaking would probably be an understatement to describe Yuri, and Otabek felt incredibly underdressed. 

His shirt was loose like Otabek’s, but made from much finer material and dyed a striking red with white and blue accents that stood out even more against his pale skin and hair. His trousers were more close fitting, and whoever had made them had put a panel of some variety of tiger skin on the outer sides. He wore the same style of boots as he had in the market, but these seemed to be made from richer materials. Finally, his hair had been braided in an intricate style that eventually wound its way down his back, he’d even somehow managed to thread flowers into it. They made his eyes look so, so green, and Otabek didn’t even realise he was staring until Yuri cleared his throat. 

“I didn’t have much to wear,” Otabek said, hoping to pass off his staring as nothing more than discomfort at the wildly different quality of their attire. And not that he thought Yuri was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. 

“Don’t worry about it, you look nice.” Yuri shrugged and Otabek felt a wave of relief and no small amount of pride that  _ Yuri _ thought he looked nice. “I only wear this crap because Viktor bought it for me and he whines when I don’t dress nice, he doesn’t care about other people,” his brow furrowed and even looking annoyed he was gorgeous, “only me.”

Otabek nodded but didn’t know what more to say, so he stayed quiet. Yuri didn’t seem to be in much of a chatty mood anyway, and most of the walk to Viktor’s home was spent in relatively comfortable silence. 

Yuri didn’t bother knocking when they arrived, just pushed open the door and yelled “we’re here!” 

They were herded through into a reception room where they were each handed drinks, and after only a few moments Yuri suddenly made an ugly sound. 

“What the hell is  _ he _ doing here?” 

Otabek turned in the direction he was looking to see a fairly tall man wearing red and white talking loudly to Katsuki, who seemed to be indulging him more than listening intently, if the way his gaze flickered around the room was anything to go by.

“Fucking Prince JJ Leroy of Toronto, he always muscles his way in because Toronto and Hasetsu have a trade agreement,” Yuri was still complaining, but he’d lost Otabek now.

“Who and the what, now?” He asked stupidly, his mouth working faster than his brain could stop him. Yuri gave him a long look and then sighed. Otabek opened his mouth to apologise but Yuri was off again.

“Tall guy in red with the stupid haircut,” Otabek’s hand went unconsciously to his own hair, which was almost identical, “is the crown prince of Toronto, a country to the north west, dunno if you’ve ever been there,” Otabek nodded to indicate that he had. 

“Well, after Katsuki - that’s Prince Yuri of Hasetsu - married Viktor JJ decided he would follow him here and basically make a big nuisance of himself.” Yuri heaved a long-suffering sigh. Otabek floundered, trying to think of what to say but no words seemed appropriate so he just put a hand on Yuri’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze of support for just a moment.

“Anyway—“ Yuri began, but JJ’s ears had apparently been burning and he was suddenly upon them.

“Yurotchka! I’m so glad you made it!” He reached out to touch Yuri, maybe to draw him close, but Yuri immediately backed up. Feeling suddenly possessive, Otabek stepped in and placed himself firmly between JJ and Yuri.  _ He _ was the one Yuri had invited, who did this arrogant asshole think he was? Taking JJ’s outstretched hand he shook it with possibly a little more force than was really necessary. 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Otabek,” he said coolly, “Yuri invited me to join him this evening.”

Otabek got to enjoy the look of surprise and hurt that crossed JJ’s face for a moment before his expression smoothed. Probably all that royal upbringing teaching him to be an unflappable diplomat.

“How nice! I so rarely get to meet folks from the lower town,” the implied insult was clumsy, and Otabek smirked. 

The two of them probably would have continued trading barbs but Viktor swept into the room to announce it was time to eat.

“Finally,” Yuri grumbled under his breath. 

It was a testament to his good manners - or maybe just a test of them - that Otabek didn’t show any sign of displeasure at the ridiculous fare being offered. A whole quail for a  _ starter _ was just unnecessary. But he ate carefully and complimented Viktor on the meal, even though he had staff to cook for him. The main was some kind of pork and rice dish that was apparently Katsuki’s favourite, and it was much more enjoyable for Otabek too. 

“So!” Viktor clapped his hands decisively as soon as the main course dishes had been cleared away. “I’ve been speaking with Yuri about your future, cousin,” he began.

“Actually, he’s been talking  _ at _ me, and I’d like to point out I told him to mind his own business,” Katsuki said solemnly, sipping his wine. 

Viktor gave him a devastated look but barrelled on anyway. “Yes,  _ well, _ we uh, that is  _ I _ think that it’s high time you married, Yuri.” 

Otabek felt Yuri bristle beside him, and pressed his knee to Yuri’s in solidarity.

“Your husband’s right, you  _ should _ mind your own business,” Yuri snarled. 

“Your well-being  _ is _ my business, Yuri, which is why we,” Katsuki glared hard at his husband, “why  _ I _ have decided it would be a good match for you to marry Jean-Jacques here.” Viktor beamed as if this was the best idea in the world, oblivious to how much Yuri apparently hated JJ. Across from him on Yuri’s other side JJ was also grinning like the cat that got the cream, and Otabek just knew this was  _ not _ going to go down well.

“Viktor,” Yuri’s voice was dangerously quiet, and Otabek could feel the tension radiating throughout him where their knees were pressed together, “aside from the obvious fucking fact that you have no right to force me to marry anyone.” Yuri heaved a huge breath in through his nose and let it out slowly through his mouth, clearly trying not to explode. “I’ve told all my suitors that if they want me to consider their proposal they need to get the key from Potya’s collar. JJ hasn’t done that.”

“Well,” Viktor tilted his head, “what I’m suggesting is  _ you let JJ catch the cat.”  _ There was something about what he said that implied there was another meaning to his words, but before Otabek could puzzle it out Yuri was on his feet, his chair clattering to the floor behind him.

“Vik—,”

“You mean this key?” Otabek interrupted, heading off Yuri’s outburst by placing a small golden key in the middle of the table, “I wondered what that was for.”

Everyone at the table turned to look at him in stunned silence for a moment, and then all hell broke loose.


	9. Chapter 9

“You mean this key? I wondered what that was for.”

Otabek’s words stunned Yuri, so much so that he barely even glanced at the key itself. Before he could react Viktor and JJ were shouting and Katsuki was waving his arms around trying to calm them both down. Otabek just took another sip of his wine, seemingly unfazed. 

“Grab that and come with me,” he hissed in Otabek’s ear, then hurried out of the room. Nobody would even notice they were gone until everyone had calmed down; JJ was furious with Viktor for promising him something that wasn’t his to offer, Viktor was basically incoherent and Yuri wasn’t sure if he was happy someone might finally marry him or angry that his arranged marriage wasn’t going to pan out - probably both - and Katsuki’s complete focus was on the two of them. If they didn’t slip out now it might be hours and a crossbow wedding before they had another chance. 

Yuri had lived with Viktor for several years when he was young so he knew the manor well, particularly since he had spent a lot of the time he was here hiding from an overbearing relative. Grabbing Otabek’s wrist he guided him through the labyrinth of hallways until they were finally in an old unused box room that it would take Viktor hours to figure out where to find them. 

“That’s not my key,” he said matter-of-factly while Otabek was still catching his breath.

He knew that couldn’t be his key, he’d realised it during their flight through the building. Apart from this morning the only cat Otabek had seen since last week had been Yuri. And Potya had definitely still had her key when Yuri left for dinner this evening. 

“Oh, right, yes, no,” Otabek pulled the key from his pocket and Yuri was mesmerised by the way he twirled it absently between his fingers, “I uh, saw the key on her collar and thought it… um… looked similar to this one. I was just looking at it before I left camp.”

“So why did you…?” Yuri squinted at him, thoroughly baffled. He got a shrug in reply, and squinted harder until Otabek elaborated.

“I really didn’t think it that far through. I was just... irritated that your cousin was trying to force you into a marriage you clearly didn’t want, with someone you  _ obviously _ don’t like. I’m,” he sighed heavily and ran his free hand through his hair, “I’m sorry if I overstepped.”

Yuri burst into peals of laughter, startling Otabek who stepped back and apparently tripped over his own feet. He flailed and tried to catch himself on a stack of crates, but only succeeded in bringing them to the floor with him. 

“Oof, ow…” 

Yuri could only laugh harder at the sight of Otabek sprawled out surrounded by the detritus of too many years; one of the crates had broken open and garish fabric had spilled out, some of Viktor’s fancy clothes from his younger years. 

“Nice to see my misfortune is amusing,” Otabek grumbled sardonically from the ground. 

Yuri beamed at him, “Sorry, but you have to admit that was funny,” a final stray giggle escaped, then he leaned down to help Otabek to his feet. 

“I’ll remember that,” Otabek grudgingly took Yuri’s hand and clambered to his feet then turned to look at the mess with a frown.

“Oh leave it, Viktor will find it in about five years time and assume it was Makka.” He was still holding Otabek’s hand, why was he still holding his hand? He should let go, probably, but it was warm and strong and for a second Yuri couldn’t think of any reason why he should. The silence stretched on for a beat too long, then Otabek pulled away and leaned down to pick up a couple of garments.

“Fuschia? Honestly, what was he  _ thinking?” _ Otabek shook his head with a tiny smile, and Yuri felt his heart skip a beat. 

“You didn’t,” he said suddenly.

“Hm? Didn’t what?” Otabek turned his confusion on Yuri.

“Overstep. You said you were sorry if you had, you didn’t. I appreciate it. If I’m lucky it’ll fend JJ off for a while, and keeping him calm will hopefully keep Viktor and Katsuki busy too.”

“Oh. Well. Good. I’m glad.” Otabek was smiling again now and Yuri felt himself sway and lean in, drawn inexorably to this strange, mysterious man who treated nature with respect and defended his honour without a second’s thought. “I should probably get back to camp,” Otabek said as he turned away, dropping the hideous article of clothing back onto the pile, “I don’t want to get lost in the dark.” 

Yuri squinted at the back of his head in disbelief. He couldn’t imagine a situation where Otabek might get lost in the woods, even unfamiliar ones. But the moment had been lost so he moved to follow, but Otabek had stopped in the doorway.

“What?” Yuri asked, short-tempered for reasons he couldn’t figure out right now.

“Never mind getting lost in the dark,” Otabek said sheepishly, “I have no idea how to get out of this house.”

Yuri chuckled and slipped past him, waving him forward to lead them out through a back entrance. He didn’t want to bump into Viktor again, after all.

The town was fairly quiet in the early evening twilight, and there were few people on the streets. Yuri nodded to folks he knew as he passed them, but otherwise remained silent. He didn’t really know what to say, he felt a little awkward somehow.

“It’s a beautiful night,” Otabek said suddenly as they walked.

Yuri glanced back at him and saw him ambling along with his hands shoved in his pockets, staring up at the starry sky above them and apparently following Yuri completely on instinct. 

“Yeah, I guess.”

Otabek must have taken that to mean that Yuri didn’t want to talk, because he didn’t speak again until they reached the gate to Yuri’s house.

“Well,” Yuri couldn’t read his expression in the dim light, “I had a nice evening anyway, thank you for inviting me.”

Otabek stuck his hand out and, too quickly, Yuri grabbed it, eager to once again feel that warm hand in his. After a beat Otabek shook it, that half smile once again on his face. 

“Thanks for making it not completely terrible,” Yuri replied, blanking completely on anything else to say.

“Anytime. Well, I’ll be around a little longer anyway so I guess anytime until I leave.” Otabek gave a half shrug and released Yuri’s hand; he missed it immediately and curled his fingers into a fist to keep himself from reaching out to grab it again. Otabek gave a little wave and turned to leave.

“We’re friends, right?” He asked his retreating back.

“Of course, Yuri,” Otabek called back, turning and walking backwards for a few steps until he tripped on a root and nearly landed on his ass again. Yuri ducked his head to hide his smile.

He floundered on something else to say, it felt like he should say something… “See you!” Yuri yelled, then fled into his house like a coward. Potya was sitting near the door and gave him a look. “Oh shut up,” he told her, the ghost of Otabek’s hand in his occupying his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only a few more chapters left to go, I still haven't done much editing, but I didn't want people to be left hanging waiting around for me to do that! I want to get it all finished and posted asap :)
> 
> Also, I am writing fic in a brand new fandom, woo hoo! \o/ So please look out for that in December :) 
> 
> Alsoalso, if anyone is still waiting on me to update the Sebastian Stan in the MCU fic I started a while back, don't fret! I will be adding more to that one very soon, it's not forgotten in the least. <3


	10. Chapter 10

Otabek was pacing. He’d walked the perimeter of his camp four times since he got up, and across it several more than that.  _ Knowing _ he was pacing didn’t help him stop, though. Eventually he sat down by the firepit to stop himself wearing a track in the dirt.

The trouble was he couldn’t stop thinking about Yu—,  _ last night. _ He kept going over and over everything that happened in his head. He was half expecting Viktor to show up and arrest him for… what? Anything, really. Ruining their dinner? Courting Yu—  _ no _ . He shook his head violently. He wasn’t courting, he was just being friendly, he was moving on in a few days,  _ should _ have moved on days ago already… 

But…

Yuri was just so… so… indescribable. Of course he was gorgeous, Otabek had thought that the moment he set eyes on him. Even now he wasn’t creeping on him from the bushes he still thought so. His ethereal beauty wasn’t diminished by the harsh light of day. But he was also kind, and interesting, and he had a wicked sense of humour that Otabek appreciated. So he found him attractive, so what? He was a wanderer, he wasn’t  _ dead, _ and maybe if things were different he might have looked for a little nighttime comfort. But they weren’t. He wasn’t staying.

He slapped his cheeks a couple of times and stood up. It was time to go. He felt a moment of regret that he was going to leave without saying goodbye to Yuri, or Potya, but he knew he had to go before he changed his mind, before anything else came up to stop him going. Otabek grabbed a few things from his bag and then headed towards the traps he had laid out around the area; he needed to make sure not to forget any of them. It would be terrible for him to forget one and some small creature end up starving to death in one. The thought made him stop and shudder for a second. A rustling ahead of him caught his attention and Potya leaped out of a bush to land on the thin trail before him.

“Oh, hello little kitten,” Otabek couldn’t help the wide smile that overtook his face; he was going to get to say goodbye to one of his friends after all. “I’m just going to gather my traps, want to join me?” He bowed slightly at her, as if he was addressing some noblewoman, and to his surprise she took that as an invitation. Before he could blink twice Potya sprang up his body and settled on his shoulder the way he had seen her do with Yuri so many times. 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he grinned, tickling her under the chin before he moved off again. There was a moment where he felt her claws dig in to his thick jerkin to get her balance, but a moment later she settled and curled her tail around his neck. It felt nice, and he was touched that she was this comfortable with him now. 

Trap gathering was a tricky thing with a shoulder-cat, but Otabek made it work. The last thing he wanted to do right now was dislodge her, although he did have to ask her to hop down for a moment when he discovered a pigeon in one of the traps. That would make a good lunch for them both before he headed out, he decided, and it was worth losing his passenger for. Fortunately she didn’t take this as a dismissal and trailed along after him back to his camp. It was probably for the best; some of the things he used as traps were simple sticks picked up in the forest that he could break down and leave behind, but others he needed to carry and having one less shoulder to do that with would have been a pain. He’d have made it work, but was glad he didn’t have to. 

As the morning waned into early afternoon Otabek stokes up his fire and spit-roasted the pigeon, using the heated stones around it to cook some veggies for himself too. Feeling a little sentimental, perhaps, he chopped and arranged his little friend’s food on a large leaf before serving it to her where she was patiently waiting just barely out of his reach. It seemed she was intelligent enough to know not to get in the way when someone was cooking around a fire. Eating together with her left Otabek feeling bittersweet, knowing it would be the last time. At least until he wound up back here again, which he knew would likely happen eventually. Once her ‘plate’ was clean and he had finished his own meal, Otabek decided he had better finish up packing. Instead, he found Potya shoving her way into his lap and pushing her head into his hand forcefully. 

“Okay, okay little one,” he chuckled, getting with the program and petting her the way she was clearly demanding. Satisfied that he had succumbed to her whims Potya curled up on his legs and purred loudly, her forepaws gently kneading the air. It wasn’t until it began to get dark that Otabek realised he had been sat there for hours stroking Potya’s silky soft fur, and he was beginning to get stiff.

“I need to move, sweetheart,” Otabek said softly, “before all my joints lock up. I can’t stay still for hours at a time like you.”

Potya looked up at him and her blue eyes glowed in the faint twilight, but she stood up obediently anyway. Otabek made to stand, but he found himself halted by small brown paws on his chest and a head shoved forcibly into his face. Potya made a few enquiring  _ mrrp  _ noises at him, and he stroked her head, hoping that was what she wanted. She kept nuzzling his fingers and guiding them under her chin and to the back of her neck, but he really needed to move now so regretfully and with mumbled apologies he stood up to stretch. Potya jumped to the ground and looked at him oddly before stalking off into the dark undergrowth at the edge of the clearing. 

Well, he wasn’t going to get anywhere tonight. It was better to start out early anyway, so Otabek decided he would sleep for a while and get going around dawn. Stocking up the fire and checking his spell was still sound, he laid out his bedroll and tried not to think of how much he was going to miss that affectionate little cat.

No matter how long he spent travelling, Otabek had never managed to get a head for weather. He’d tried dozens of different methods and still consistently got caught out, so it came as little surprise when he was awoken just before dawn by cool drops of rain. Used to this, he quickly jumped up and set up his little shelter—barely more than an oilcloth held up by two strong branches—and fed the fire the last of his dry wood before the rain could snuff it out. 

“Maybe it’ll stop by noon,” he muttered grimly, though as the drizzle became a deluge that hope quickly waned. By the time the sun was, presumably since the clouds were now so thick it was still almost dark, fully over the horizon his little fire had gone out completely and Otabek was being kept warm and dry solely by a couple of spells his grandmother had taught him. The oilcloth was little help in this storm. 

He was staring out at the rain despondently when Potya suddenly ran up, soaked through and miaowing loudly. She leaped into his lap, where the drying spell he was using extended to her and fluffed up her fur, and got in his face, still crying fit to burst. 

“What’s wrong, Potya? Why are you out in this weather?” Otabek was suddenly worried, something seemed really off about her, something strange about her forest-green eyes. Instead of answering, which would have been pointless anyway, she ran out into the rain and then back to him. Otabek sighed, realising he was going to have to get wet anyway, and dispelled his spells. 

“Alright, I’m coming, is Yuri okay?”

She darted away and Otabek had to hurry to keep up with her, watching through the curtain of rain for flashes of her cream fur. It took longer than he expected to reach the edge of the forest but finally he was crossing the meadow that filled the space between the trees and Yuri’s house. There was smoke rising from the chimney, but Potya led him up to the front door anyway. 

Otabek opened his mouth to speak, but Potya jumped nimbly up to the windowsill by the door and pawed at the handle. He tried it, but it was locked. Potya fixed him with a look and lifted her head, revealing the key affixed to her collar. Realising something terrible must have happened to her master, and that he must have been the closest human she trusted to help, he quickly unbuckled the collar. The instant it was free she leaped down and vanished around the side of the house, leaving Otabek to stand there stupidly holding the collar and key. It wasn’t until he heard the cat flap slam wetly that he remembered he needed to get in himself. After a moment’s fumble he managed to get the key in the lock and stumbled into the house, Yuri’s name on his lips.


	11. Chapter 11

The sound of the cat flap alerted Yuri to Potya’s return and he smiled at her as she wandered into his workshop licking her lips. 

“Been to see Otabek, have you?” 

She sat and began cleaning her face, ignoring him for the moment.

“What, no gossip to share?” Yuri slammed his mortar and pestle down on the workbench, irritated for some reason. “What did you even go for then?”

Potya just gave him a long, sad look, and Yuri sagged into an armchair, no longer interested in work. It was getting late anyway. 

“Damn, I really thought…”

It was so rare to find someone Yuri got along with, rarer still to find one Potya liked too, he’d gotten his hopes up but… no, there was the key, glinting in the light as she jumped up to his lap. He even went so far as to check it was his own, and not the pretty one Otabek had used to fool Viktor the night before. Had it really only been last night? Somehow it felt like months ago. Or even just now. Time was beginning to blur for Yuri, and he realised he had poured a lot of emotion into this fleeting friendship without even meaning to. It wasn’t like Otabek was living in town, he was probably going to leave soon… and he’d never actually  _ really _ shown an interest beyond friendship, not blatantly. Maybe the things he’d done and said were just how he showed friendship. Perhaps Yuri had imagined everything… He was brooding so deeply he didn’t even notice when Potya left the room.

A crash of thunder startled Yuri awake in his chair and he grimaced at the stiffness in his neck. It had been a long time since he’d worked so hard that he’d fallen asleep in the workshop. He looked over at the table and frowned when he saw a poultice half finished. What had he been…? 

Oh, right.

He’d been moping around about Otabek, hadn’t he? 

The thunder shook the house again and suddenly Yuri was on his feet, remembering Otabek and realising that he was out in the woods in this storm. It was going to be a big one, he could tell. They rolled through off the mountains every few months and it would probably rain for a couple of days. Otabek didn’t seem to have any shelter. 

Yuri was throwing on his raincoat and yanking at the front door before he had a second to think, his body deciding for him that he had to… what? Rescue the man who probably dealt with all kinds of storms all year round? Yuri couldn’t put his finger on it, but his skin itched with the primal  _ need _ to do something, anything. Anyway, what did he think he could do? He knew Otabek’s camp was protected by a spell, and although he could go to the general area and just shout it could give away his deception, and he wasn’t sure he was ready for Otabek to know he was a shapeshifter. 

He let go of the door handle and kicked the locked door in disgust. 

A questioning chirp drew his attention to Potya, sitting by the cat flap pointedly. 

“Fuck, right.” He quickly unbuckled the collar from her neck and placed it on his own, shifting into cat form and hurtling out through the flap and into the rain. 

It was harder to move through the grass and undergrowth in this form, but at least it would seem less strange for Yuri to show up at Otabek’s camp as Potya. He only hoped he could communicate as well as he needed to. Otabek seemed smart enough, it would probably be okay.

When he finally, after what seemed like hours, crossed into Otabek’s camp he saw him sitting dejectedly under an oilcloth that didn’t seem to be doing a great job, though he was still dry so that was something. When he hopped into his lap he felt the drying spell envelop him.

_ ‘Huh, clever,’ _ he thought, before dashing back out into the rain. 

The journey back to his house seemed to take even longer, partly because he had to keep going back for Otabek. While it was difficult in cat form to push through sodden leaves, it seemed that Otabek was struggling even more, though he had apparently resigned himself to getting wet. The boughs of the trees were weighted down with rain so it was likely that more of them were getting in the way than usual. 

When he finally managed to get Otabek to slip the collar off he dashed around the back, shifting into human form as quickly as he could and re-dressing in the clothes he’d left discarded on the floor earlier. His hair was still wet, and he hadn’t had time to put his socks and shoes back on, but when Otabek burst into the house yelling his name he was, at least, mostly dressed. 

“Otabek?” He called back, feigning innocence as he walked as calmly as he could while also controlling his breathing from the hectic run.

“Oh, Goddess, are you okay?” Otabek was  _ frantic _ and grabbed Yuri by the shoulders, looking him over as if hunting for some injury. 

“I’m fine, are you though? This is quite a storm.” Yuri tried to step back, he’d swear to the Goddess Herself that he did, but his feet somehow refused to move. If anything he leaned in a little closer to Otabek. 

Otabek squinted at him but seemed satisfied that nothing was wrong, though his eyes searched his face. “Are you feverish? You’re very red.”

“Ah,” Yuri blushed, reddening his face even further, “no, I was just exercising to um… keep warm.”

“...oh.” Otabek finally released him, and Yuri clenched his fists to keep from grabbing his hands. “Potya made it seem like something was wrong…” he looked around for the cat.

“She was probably just worried about you being out in this storm,” Yuri smiled, “would you like some tea?” His grandpa always said tea solved everything, and at least it was a good start.

Otabek looked momentarily taken aback, but nodded. 

Yuri waved him at the table and chairs pushed up against the wall and set to making tea. Once they were both settled with steaming cups he glanced over at the door with the cat flap and then back to Otabek.

“How did you get in, anyway?” He hoped the question wasn’t as much of a set up as it sounded, but Otabek still seemed a little out of sorts so he probably wouldn’t notice anyway.

“Huh? Oh. Right. Uh. Potya gave me your key, that’s why I was so sure something was wrong. I’m sorry.” He patted himself absently as if looking for it, then sneezed loudly.

“Shit, I’m sorry, you’re piss wet through! Let me get you a towel.” Yuri hadn’t even thought of that, and mentally berated himself all the way to the airing cupboard for not considering that sooner.

“‘—nks,” Otabek mumbled as he threw the towel over his head and vigorously dried his dripping hair. 

Yuri dithered, wracking his brain. “I don’t know if any of my clothes will fit you…”

“It’s fine,” Otabek’s voice was muffled, “hang on one sec.” He emerged from the towel and smiled sheepishly. “I’m an idiot, I can just,” he made a complicated gesture and said something under his breath, and Yuri realised this must be the same drying spell he had been using in the forest when his hair and clothes rippled almost imperceptibly and then were dry. He still seemed to shiver slightly, but at least he was less likely to catch a cold. 

“Come on, bring your tea,” Yuri needed to get him warm and quickly, so he led him through to his small living room where he stoked up the embers of last night’s fire and threw a few more logs onto it. He pulled an armchair over close to it and then, after a moment’s thought, dragged another for himself. He was starting to feel a little chilly too. 

Otabek sat in the chair Yuri directed him to and leaned in close to the fire. Yuri took the opportunity of his attention being elsewhere to look him over again. He was  _ not _ checking him out, he was just concerned. 

“Thanks, Yuri,” Otabek was directing that small, sweet smile at him again and  _ Goddess _ that was dangerous. Well… maybe it was time to take a risk.

“So,” Yuri settled himself in the opposite chair and his eyes fluttered closed of their own accord when he felt the rising heat of the fire hit him. “I guess you win then.”

Otabek looked puzzled.

“The race for the key?” He tried to keep the smugness from his face. Okay, so he genuinely  _ had _ been worried about Otabek, and if he wasn’t interested Yuri wasn’t going to force him into anything, but he couldn’t stop himself from making the insinuation anyway. The fact was that he  _ liked _ Otabek, and he didn’t want this chance for…  _ something _ to slip away from him so easily. 

“Oh. That.” Otabek ran his fingers through his hair and wouldn’t meet his eyes. Yuri would swear his face looked a little red too, but he couldn’t be sure between the light of the fire and their hectic run through the forest. Well. He guessed he’d gotten his answer.

“I’m only jo—“ he started.

“The thing is—“ Otabek said at the same time.

“Sorry, go on,” Yuri waved a hand at him, intensely curious to hear what he was going to say.

Otabek took a deep breath and his eyes flicked up to Yuri’s for a second before they went back to the fire.

“The thing is… I don’t know, I just…” Otabek squeezed his eyes shut and a pained expression crossed his face. “It’s not that I, I mean, you’re very. You’re. You know. And I wouldn’t, it’s not that I wouldn’t, I just can’t, I mean…” he trailed off. There was a look of near-terror on his face, and Yuri felt a pang of concern for him.

“Hey, take it easy, drink some tea.” Otabek nodded and took a few big gulps of his drink. Yuri drained his own and went back to the kitchen to fetch the teapot, hoping a moment alone would help Otabek get his thoughts in order. 

“You go?” Otabek asked him plaintively when he returned. Yuri nodded.

“I was kidding about the thing with the key. I know that’s not,” he faltered, “not an option, that you’re not interested. It was just funny, that someone who wasn’t even trying got the key before anyone who wanted it, that’s all.” Now that he said it aloud it sounded mean, and he somehow felt like even if he  _ had _ had a chance with Otabek, he’d blown it.

“No, no, no, it’s not that, Yuri.” Otabek reached out as if to touch him then recoiled, curling his hand around the other side of his teacup instead. “I mean yes, I wasn’t trying to get the key. I only used it because Potya seemed so insistent that I thought you were hurt or something.” Yuri’s heart ached, Otabek was just so  _ good _ that he felt somehow inadequate by comparison. “But it’s not that I’m not interested. I, um. I like you a lot, Yuri. But I’m moving on, I'm not staying, I don’t get attached to people. Or animals. I  _ don’t.” _

Otabek fell silent, and Yuri didn’t know what to say to fill the void.

Potya, who had apparently been listening in from the box seat in the window, chose that moment to miaow loudly. She hopped down and sauntered over with all the speed of a geriatric snail before seating herself by the fire between them. She looked at Yuri and then at Otabek and miaowed again.

“She wants to know why not?” Yuri said finally, after she had glared at him for a few moments.

“She does?” Otabek looked confused, which was honestly understandable.

“Yeah. I do too, actually.” Yuri wasn’t sure what possessed him to say that, possibly the spirit of his little shit of a cat. 

Otabek continued to look into the fire, still seemingly unwilling to meet his eyes. Potya jumped up into his lap and he started, but somehow instinctively brought his hands up to pet her.

“Because it’s too hard to leave them,” Otabek answered eventually, “and hurting them feels horrible. I don’t like leaving behind attachments.”

Yuri snorted derisively. “Well that’s fucking stupid.”

Otabek finally looked up at him, surprise written all over his face.

“I mean, if you don’t want to stay in one place that’s fine, but to have no attachments at all? No friends?”

“Yuri…”

“No dumbass, listen up. You can’t just be on your own forever. Even if you move around eventually you’re gonna go through the same place you’ve been to before, right? The world is a finite place. And wouldn’t it be nice to have a friend to visit? Or a bed to sleep in?” Yuri had leapt to his feet, his voice rising. “I’m not saying you have to be  _ my _ friend, but you should have  _ someone. _ What if something happens to you, don’t you want someone to care? Someone to miss you? Someone to-”

“Worry for me when there’s a storm?” Yuri didn’t miss the pointed look.

_ “Yes. _ How can you think you’re better off not getting attached!” 

The sound of his voice faded as he finally ran out of steam, standing panting in his living room. His still damp hair dripped tiny raindrops onto his shoulders. Otabek just stared at him, his expression impossible to interpret. 

Yuri sagged back into his chair and scrubbed his face with his hands in frustration.

“I just… I don’t get it, and it’s stupid. I’m sure you have a good reason, but still.” 


	12. Chapter 12

Yuri stopped yelling at him and Otabek let the awkward silence stretch between them like something tangible that he could reach out and touch. Even Potya only blinked serenely at them, clearly refusing to get involved. He knew he should say something, knew it was his turn to talk, his turn to explain, but somehow he just couldn’t get the words out. 

The truth was that he didn’t really  _ have _ a reason for not wanting to get attached to people. Not a good one anyway. The main thing was that he didn’t want to be tied down. He’d spent years being a representative of Almaty as a Diplomat, someone they looked to for guidance and strength, and now he was free he was reluctant to give up those freedoms again. Didn’t want people back home to hear that he was settled somewhere and come begging him to return to his former duties. It wasn’t exactly that he thought they would, but it was easier to just be some anonymous drifter than risk that happening. 

He was… afraid, he realised suddenly. People frightened him, no,  _ pressure _ frightened him. He actually didn’t mind people all that much. But those few years as a Diplomat had been the most stressful time of his life, and the thought of going back to that was terrifying. 

Could he just tell Yuri that? Could he explain in a way that wouldn’t sound ridiculous? Somehow he felt like if anyone would understand it might be Yuri. And what was the worst that could happen anyway? Yuri wouldn’t understand and would reject him, and he’d be back to having no attachments and free to move on again. But if he  _ did _ understand… Maybe Otabek’s life would change for the better. Maybe he’d have a place he could return to, a place to… stay? 

“I can’t tell if you’re frowning because you’re angry with me, or because of something else,” Yuri interrupted his thoughts in a small voice. Otabek looked up and saw Yuri had drawn his knees up to his chest and was holding them almost protectively with his arms. His body language was completely closed, and Otabek’s heart ached that he was the cause of his discomfort. 

“No, sorry,” he answered quickly, “it’s not you. I’m not angry. I’m just thinking. You said a lot, you know.” 

“I know.” Yuri looked like he might be about to continue, but then snapped it shut and looked away again. He probably didn’t want to launch into another lecture. 

“The truth is, I’m afraid,” Otabek finally admitted. Yuri glanced up at him with a pinched look. “I know, it sounds ridiculous, but I want you to understand that I haven’t always been a traveller. I was stuck in one place for a really long time doing things that were difficult and stressful, and the thought of growing attached to people or places again is, well… terrifying. I can’t bear to think of what might happen if I did that, don’t… no, I  _ can’t _ get roped into doing that again.”

Yuri seemed to be mulling it over, tilting his head this way and that as he absorbed Otabek’s words. Finally, after what felt like an inordinately long time, he shrugged.

“That’s fine. You don’t have to explain. But if you’re looking for a low-stress life then being alone forever isn’t exactly going to help with that. Just choosing better friends is gonna be better than just hiding away for the rest of your life, don’t you think?” 

Otabek’s jaw was hanging open, and he couldn’t really bring himself to close it. He knew he must look like an idiot, but right now he didn’t really care. How could Yuri just take that non-explanation and be okay with it? Not only that, but offer a solution as well? 

“I… guess?” He said after staring at Yuri in disbelief for way too long. 

“Alright then.” Yuri leaned forward suddenly and looked Otabek dead in the eyes, the shadow of a smile on his face. “Are we friends then or not?” 

Otabek blinked stupidly and then laughed, grabbing Yuri’s outstretched hand. “Sure, Yuri, we’re friends.” 

“I’m glad we cleared that up.” Potya miaowed loudly and headbutted their clasped hands. “She is too,” Yuri grinned. 

Silence fell over the two of them again, but it was noticeably different to before. This was companionable, just two people sharing space without the need for unnecessary words, sipping their rapidly cooling tea and enjoying the other’s presence. At least, that’s how it started. After a few moments of quiet, while Otabek finally managed to get his body to relax, Potya decided that enough was enough and began to miaow at the two of them. She wandered back and forth across the short space between them, crying, and rubbing herself against their legs. Otabek leaned down to pet her, but no sooner had he done so than she walked away again. He looked up at Yuri, confused. 

“You don’t want to know,” he said cryptically and glared down at the little cat.

“You really can understand her, huh?” Otabek smiled, not really phased. He’d already guessed the two had an unusual relationship, had thought from the start that she might be some kind of familiar to him, so knowing Yuri could tell what she was saying wasn’t much of a surprise. 

Yuri looked a little uncomfortable, refusing to meet his eyes, and Otabek felt bad for ruining their tentative peace. “Is that a problem?” 

“Should it be? I think it’s sweet. Potya is a lovely cat, she’s been an excellent companion even though I couldn’t understand her like you can, and to be honest I’m a little envious.”

Yuri’s eyes lit up and he leaned forward in excitement. “I can teach you! It’s easy!” 

Otabek couldn’t help laughing as he stared at Yuri, he’d never seen him so bright and open. It made him want to lean into that light, to grab hold of it and never let go. He stared into Yuri’s green, green eyes, and– oh.

“It was you sometimes, wasn’t it.” It wasn’t a question, more of a statement. That was why he hadn’t been able to pin down Potya’s eye colour, why he’d been confused about whether they were green or blue. Because they weren’t always the  _ same. _ Looking down at Potya, who had an oddly smug expression on her furry little face, he could see now that her eyes were definitely blue. Glancing back up at Yuri he saw that he had once more withdrawn his body and was folded up in his chair again. Everything about him screamed that he was closing himself off, preparing himself for rejection. 

“My dad could shift into a bear,” he said suddenly, though he’d never shared this tidbit of information with anyone else before, “I never had the knack for it, unfortunately.. My sister does a pretty good mountain lion though.” Otabek couldn’t have told anyone asking why he felt so strongly that he needed to open up like this, only that the look on Yuri’s face was breaking his heart, and he would do anything, say anything, to smooth his brow and bring that smile back. 

“Really?” Yuri’s voice was small and he was frowning at Otabek in disbelief. 

“Yeah. I tried to learn, but I never managed more than making myself really furry. Dad said it was because I was  _ too _ close to nature. It’s easier for him and Sofia because they respect nature without being a part of it. But I spent most of my childhood running around barefoot in the woods of Almaty and climbing mountains for fun. Probably my earliest friends were animals, I guess that’s why I connected so easily with Potya too. She reminded me of home.” 

An odd noise drew his attention to Yuri, only to find he was laughing into his hand. Once he realised Otabek had noticed he gave in and let the giggles overtake him. 

“What’s so funny?” Otabek asked, a little irritated.

“No, sorry, just I, ahaha, I got the image in my head of you all fluffy and confused and–” Yuri dissolved again, tears at the corners of his eyes from the effort of keeping it contained. Otabek had to admit, it  _ had _ been pretty funny actually, and chuckled a little along with him. 

“Okay, okay, that’s enough laughing at my expense,” Otabek managed finally, and he leaned forward to shove Yuri’s knee playfully. Yuri managed to get himself under control after a moment, but when he finally looked up at Otabek his eyes still sparkled with mirth, and Otabek had a brief flash of wondering why the hell he’d been trying not to let himself grow attached to him. 

“Hey, so, you can’t shift at all, even though it’s in your family? I’ve never heard of that. Grandpa always said it runs deep in most bloodlines. Though,” he tilted his head thoughtfully, “Viktor can’t do it either. We’re not really all that closely related, but you’d think if it were so strong in my side of the family it would have to be in his too, right? I remember him trying when we were young, but he couldn’t manage so much as a single whisker.” 

“Well maybe he has a similar problem to me,” Yuri squinted at Otabek, but he raised a hand to stop him from speaking. “No, I don’t mean that he’s too close to nature, rather maybe he’s just too far removed. He seems like the type of person who’s been shut up in that house his whole life, who only knows about the natural world from what he’s read in books or been taught. He probably couldn’t do it even if you were brothers, just because he isn’t attuned to the right things. Don’t you think?” 

Yuri tilted his head this way and that for a long moment, seemingly considering Otabek’s words, then nodded. “Yeah, probably.” 

Thunder crashed overhead at that moment, lightning flashing a heartbeat later and throwing white light into the room in a stark contrast to the light of the fire. Although it was probably around the middle of the day the clouds cast the whole area into darkness, leaving the room gloomy once the lightning passed. 

“Hey. Thanks for coming to get me,” Otabek mumbled, staring down at his empty teacup. “I don’t think it would have been all that much fun to sit in the forest in this. Not that I haven’t done it before, but still. It’s nice to be somewhere warm and dry instead.”

“Exactly,” Yuri nodded and looked like he was about to say something more when he was interrupted by twin growls of hunger from both their stomachs. Otabek was mortified, but Yuri only laughed and yanked him to his feet. “Let’s go get something to eat.” 

Yuri didn’t let go of his wrist as he pulled him from the room, but he halted and turned back when Otabek hesitated. “Can I stay until the storm passes?” Otabek asked, his mouth apparently taking an opportunity to completely bypass his brain. Yuri only smiled at him, his expression unreadable.

“Sure.” 


	13. Chapter 13

Yuri was brooding. He recognised that, but he didn’t really feel like doing anything about it right now. 

He was sitting in the armchair in his workshop, where he had been ever since the storm finally broke in the middle of last night. Dawn was fast approaching, and so he was brooding. 

This would have been the fourth day that Otabek was staying with him, and he’d started to get used to having him around. He’d insisted on setting up a bedroll on the floor of the kitchen by the fire, which Yuri was always careful to keep alight, claiming that he’d slept in far worse places before and would likely do so again. If anything, according to him, this was more comfortable since he had a nice warm fire and Potya often curled up with him in the early hours of the morning when the fire was starting to die down but the cool morning air had begun to seep in. The first day they had gone back to Otabek’s camp and grabbed whatever they could to bring back to the house, largely because Yuri had no clothes that would fit him, but also because he knew that it would get worse before it got better and he didn’t want Otabek’s things to end up washed away or ruined by the weather.

Neither of them had really brought up the topic of what would happen when the storm blew over. Yuri knew they could last a week or more at this time of year, but had been prepared for it to be shorter. Except that apparently he hadn’t, because the moment he shot awake last night realising that the thunder had ceased and the rain was no longer lashing against the windows the way it had been, Yuri found himself unable to get back to sleep. Because that meant Otabek was probably going to leave today. And he didn’t know what to say to… what, to make him stay? Was that what he wanted? It was so hard to even admit it to himself, and he still couldn’t bring himself to really think the words, but deep down he knew even without them that yes, it was. 

Otabek had been a truly pleasant guest to have, which was unusual for Yuri. He was prickly with other people at the best of times, and having someone else in his space for more than a few hours was always difficult for him. The only person he was honestly happy to share his home with was his grandfather, though Potya went without saying. But it had been delightful having Otabek around. He was extremely helpful and had insisted that he would help out while he was visiting. He was an excellent cook and always made sure that both Yuri and Potya were well fed, even managing to concoct some elaborate meals from Yuri’s meagre storage. Best of all, his wide knowledge of plants from his time roaming the countryside meant that he found Yuri’s work fascinating, and he’d even been able to help him improve the efficacy of some of his remedies. 

All in all, Yuri had begun to get used to him being around, even in only three days, and suddenly being reminded that it was all going to go away was making him depressed. Remembering that once Otabek left and the storm had truly passed he would once more be inundated by people demanding he choose a spouse meant that by the time Otabek tapped tentatively on his door a little after dawn he was in a foul mood. 

“I brought you some tea,” Otabek said with a smile, setting it down on the table beside him, “and I’ll make us something to eat too. I think that dough I made last night should be about ready, if you’d like some fresh bread for breakfast.” 

“Whatever,” Yuri growled, only barely glancing at him. His brief look didn’t stop him seeing the flash of hurt that crossed Otabek’s face, but Otabek didn’t ask him what was wrong. He just nodded and left the room as quietly as he’d come. A few moments later Yuri heard him talking to Potya then humming in the kitchen while he did whatever he was going to do for breakfast. 

Yuri knew it probably wasn’t wise to start misbehaving when they’d been getting along so well, but then when had he ever done the wise thing? Besides, if Otabek was going to be leaving anyway, he might as well. It wasn’t like what he thought was going to make a difference anyway. Otabek had made it quite clear how he felt about friends. 

Potya nudged the door open and strolled into the room, then sat in the middle of the floor staring at him. 

“What?” He snapped at her.

She just sniffed the air and gave him a look before leaving the room again with the same slow pace, clearly refusing to entertain his bad mood. 

His tea had gone cold and his mood soured even further when Otabek finally called him down to eat, and the petty half of him considered not going down at all. Fortunately the half that contained his grumbling stomach won out, and he stomped down the stairs seeking sustenance. 

“You’re in a shitty mood this morning,” Otabek observed, though his tone didn’t suggest judgement. 

Yuri just grunted in reply and tipped his cold tea back into the kettle before hanging it over the fire again. Otabek took the hint and didn’t say anything more, he just leaned against the counter and ate his food, leaving the little kitchen table to Yuri. Potya was not so forgiving, it seemed, since once she finished her own breakfast she began to wind herself around Otabek’s legs begging for treats from him, while somehow managing to make it  _ very clear _ that Yuri was being shunned. Whatever, he would deal with her after Otabek left. 

“What time are you leaving?” Yuri asked suddenly, apropos of nothing, and Otabek looked up at him with a shocked expression. 

“I…” he frowned and put his plate down carefully behind him, then leaned back with his hands pressed hard against the wooden work surface. “Yuri, did I do something wrong?” 

Yuri’s heart ached. He sounded genuinely upset. But as much as he wanted to say no, to beg him to stay, he knew this would be less painful in the long run. As it turned out, he didn’t know if he was going to be able to cope with Otabek coming and going whenever he pleased. Maybe it would be better if he never came back at all.

“No,” he said, feigning nonchalance, “but the storm’s passed. You said you were leaving after that, so. What time?” 

Otabek took a few moments to answer, and even rubbed his face with his hands before he spoke again. “I hadn’t thought about it, honestly. I don’t…” he seemed to be starting to say something, then abruptly changed his mind. “I can leave whenever you want me to. I don’t want to outstay my welcome.” 

Yuri wanted to reach out to him, to grab him and tell him he didn’t want him to leave at all, reassure him that he would never outstay his welcome. He did not do that. 

“Whenever you’re ready is fine with me. Thanks for breakfast.” He finished the last bite of his food and left the room, unable to stand being there with Otabek any longer. 

He hid back in his workroom again. It was the one place in the house he felt truly in control, and the one place Otabek rarely entered without his permission. And after the way he’d treated him this morning, he wouldn’t be surprised at all if he came out later to find all trace of him gone. Instead of brooding Yuri tried to throw himself into his work, even if he did end up messing things up more often than not and spend more of the morning swearing at his mixtures than actually working. Finally, he ventured out when he became too hungry to ignore it any longer. It was a little after midday, he estimated, and the house was completely silent. So. He’d left already then. Yuri felt a pang of regret that Otabek hadn’t even said goodbye, but steeled himself. It was better this way. 

He hadn’t prepared himself to see Otabek sitting quietly at the kitchen table with his hands folded in front of him, Potya curled up on his lap. His things were gathered and lay neatly by the door, clearly ready for him to take them and go at a moment’s notice. 

“You can take some food and stuff, you know,” he said to break the silence. 

“I’ll be fine.” Otabek stroked Potya a little until she got the hint and jumped off his lap, though she didn’t move very far from him. He stood up and turned to face Yuri, though he stopped just short of meeting his gaze. An unreadable expression crossed his face, and he made an aborted movement as if he was going to bow or something, but just about managed to turn it into bending down to pick up his bag. “Thank you for letting me stay, Yuri, I appreciate it.” 

Yuri shrugged, embarrassed. “I’m not a total asshole, I couldn’t just let you stay out there in that storm.” 

It had been particularly horrendous too, and by the second day the wind was so bad Yuri had frantically run outside to tie oilcloths over some of his more fragile garden plants. Otabek had helped him, and the two of them had ended up soaked to the skin and freezing all for the sake of a few herbs that Yuri could easily grow again. It seemed a little silly in hindsight, but they’d laughed about it and the plants had probably survived thanks to their hard work. 

“Well then…” Otabek knelt down and petted Potya again, tickling under her chin while she purred loudly. “Take care of your master, Potya, and try to stay out of trouble.” She miaowed back at him and he chuckled. “I know, keep him out of trouble, too.” He stood up again and looked awkwardly at Yuri. “I guess I’m off then.” 

“See ya,” Yuri lifted a hand but didn’t move from the doorway. Otabek opened the front door with a barely audible sigh, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Before Yuri had a chance to do more than blink, he was gone, the front door closing behind him with a quiet click. Yuri sagged into the chair he had just vacated and put his head in his hands.

“I think I really fucked up, Potya.”

He swore he heard her snort. 


	14. Chapter 14

Otabek stood by the gate to Yuri’s garden, his body trembling as he gripped the gate post tight. He had his bag, all his things, there was nothing stopping him from walking away. And yet, somehow, he just couldn’t bring himself to actually open the gate and step through. It felt wrong. Like he’d made the wrong decision. Sure, Yuri had seemed perfectly happy, even eager, for him to go, but Otabek still had this nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something was amiss. 

“Oh, fuck it,” he muttered and dropped his bag, whirling around to stomp back to the house. He still had the damn key, after all, hadn’t been able to bring himself to leave it behind for some reason. 

The door swung open easily, maybe a little too hard when it hit the wall with a loud crash. Yuri was sitting at the table and his head shot up from his arms at the noise.

“Do you actually want me to leave or not?” Otabek demanded. His fists were clenched at his side, shoulders back and chin up like he was challenging Yuri to something. To what he couldn’t say, but it  _ felt _ like a challenge. Like a dare. He was daring Yuri to send him away. It felt wrong to leave. Otabek wasn’t sure this was what either of them wanted. 

Yuri stared at him, mouth agape. Potya trotted over to Otabek and put her front paws up on his knee; she made a little  _ prrt _ noise and absent-mindedly Otabek just picked her up. She nuzzled him under the chin and then settled in his arms, looking at Yuri expectantly with her big, wise eyes. 

“Well? If you tell me to go I’ll go, but I want to hear you say that’s what  _ you _ want.”

Yuri’s mouth flapped like a fish on a hook, but no words came out. Otabek resisted the urge to shuffle nervously on the stoop, determined not to show weakness right now. Oddly, he didn’t think he would mind showing vulnerability in front of Yuri, but right now he knew it was the wrong time. The longer the silence stretched, though, the less sure of himself he became. Perhaps he should have just left after all, maybe Yuri was trying to figure out how to let him down gently, all sorts of what ifs ran through his brain.

“I–” he began.

“Do you–” Yuri said at the same time, then both of them snapped their mouths shut. 

“No, you go,” Otabek insisted, “I’m the one who barged in here, please go ahead.” 

Yuri took a moment, but now Otabek knew he had something to say he was happy to wait. 

“Will you at least come inside? Before anyone walks past and sees you yelling on the doorstep?” Otabek couldn’t help a fleeting grin from crossing his face and he stepped inside, closing the door gently but not moving in any further. 

“Otabek, I...” Yuri sighed and stood up, though he leaned on the table heavily as if too exhausted to stand for long, “I don’t know what I want.”

“That’s fair,” Otabek conceded, “then can you tell me why you’ve been so angry this morning? If you know?” 

“I guess it’s because the storm passed. And it was nice having you around. And I knew you were leaving once the storm was gone, so I was mad because… you were leaving? And I wasn’t ready for you to leave.” The look on Yuri’s face suggested this was a revelation he was having about himself right now, so Otabek remained silent to give him a little time to process. 

The truth was that he hadn’t been ready to leave either. He hadn’t exactly intended to stay long-term, but he certainly hadn’t intended to just disappear the second the rain stopped. He hadn’t even realised that the storm had blown over until Yuri mentioned it, but as soon as Yuri mentioned him leaving he knew he had been planning to stick around a little longer anyway. Except he felt that he had overstayed his welcome after the way Yuri spoke to him that morning, so what other choice did he have but to go? Maybe he should have talked to Yuri before now, explained how he was feeling to him. That might have helped prevent this misunderstanding. 

“I guess I knew you felt trapped in your old life. I didn’t want you to feel like you couldn’t leave here because of me. Maybe? I don’t know, maybe I was just angry because I didn’t want you to go and I knew you would. Or because I finally understood what you said about not wanting to make attachments because it was too hard to hurt people when you left. I felt hurt that you were leaving.” Yuri’s voice got smaller and smaller as he spoke, and finally Otabek’s resolve broke. 

Dropping Potya gently to the floor, Otabek crossed the small space between them and put his hands on Yuri’s arms, squeezing a little until he looked him in the eyes. 

“I don’t want to leave, Yuri,” he admitted quietly. “I don’t know what I want either, but I know that walking away from you right now is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and feeling like I wasn’t welcome back was…” he swallowed thickly, “horrible.” 

Yuri stared at him, disbelief all over his face. 

“What could you possibly want to stay for?” He was practically whispering now, and Otabek clenched his jaw because what he really wanted to do right now was pull Yuri into his arms and kiss him senseless and tell him that he was an idiot and ask him what person in their right mind wouldn’t want to stay for him? 

He didn’t do any of those things, but it took a good minute of breathing carefully through his nose to shove down the urge. 

“I like you, Yuri. I like  _ being _ here with you. I’m not… not looking for anything from you, I just don’t want to go without things between us being settled. I’d stay, at least a while, for you.” Otabek looked at him seriously, trying to emphasise with his expression that his words were truthful. “Well, Potya too of course,” he added with a smile. 

“But I was an asshole to you…” Yuri sounded doubtful.

“Yeah, this morning you were kind of a dick. But before that I thought we were getting along well. Don’t you?” 

Yuri hummed, still seeming unsure, and again Otabek was hit with a sudden urge to kiss him. This was totally out of character for him, truth be told, but he was just so drawn to this strange, antisocial, ethereal man who talked to his cat and treated the earth the same way he did, with care and respect for the things it provided. Maybe Yuri had been the kind of person he’d been searching for, without ever even knowing it. 

“It  _ has _ been nice having another person to talk to…” Potya made a low, almost growling noise in protest. “Another  _ human _ I mean.” 

“Right. Exactly. You know it’s not that I don’t like people at all, I just find  _ most _ people hard to deal with, that’s why I don’t spend much time with them. Animals are much easier to handle. But you’re different, Yuri. You’re interesting, and funny, and kind. We share lots of interests, and I feel relaxed when I’m with you in a way I haven’t felt since I left home. Goddess, I even talk more when I’m around you, normally people complain I’m a monosyllabic idiot. Not that you don’t leave me tongue-tied at times too…” Otabek felt blood rush to his cheeks, he hadn’t really meant to add that part, but Yuri was laughing and nodding along. 

“Yeah, people usually just tell me I’m rude because I don’t go in for all the small talk most folks seem to adore. I mean, I don’t mind talking to my patients and I’ll ask after their family and shit, but I don’t really  _ care _ all that much, it’s just what they seem to expect me to do. What I don’t like to do is stand in the fucking street talking about the damn weather like everyone else seems to want to do, and  _ I’m _ the weird one for that?” He huffed. 

“I know what you mean. I think that’s why we get along so well, and why we have actual conversations. We talk about things that interest us when we want to, hell we spent four or more hours the other night just talking about different species of deer, but if we don’t have anything to say we don’t mind not saying anything at all. You’re good company even when we’re not filling the silence with idle chit-chat.” 

“That’s what I keep trying to tell people! You don’t have to spend every minute you’re with someone talking to them! Goddess, if I could get Viktor to fucking realise that my life would be  _ infinitely _ easier than it is, that man could talk the hind leg off a horse.” 

The two of them laughed at that, Otabek remembering how Viktor seemed to talk even on his in-breath at their disastrous dinner. The mood in the room was changing rapidly now they’d found common ground between them. Otabek felt more relaxed than he had since that morning, and Goddess had it really only been that morning that they’d started this ridiculous fight? It seemed like it had been going on for years. It had felt like it, at the time, but now it seemed so silly. He should have just spoken up in the first place instead of letting it get to this point. But at least they were talking now, that was something. Yuri had opened up a lot too, his body language changed from tense and closed-off to something much more relaxed, though Otabek suddenly realised he was still holding his arms tightly, and quickly loosened his grip. 

“I don’t mind,” Yuri murmured with a smile as Otabek released him, and caught one of his hands before he could drop them to his side.

Otabek’s brain short-circuited and he found himself at a complete loss for words. He was basically holding Yuri’s hand now, and he wasn’t sure exactly what to do with this new turn of events. He knew Yuri probably didn’t mean anything by it, but it was hard not to feel like it meant something anyway, especially after the heart-to-heart they’d just been having. 

“Uh. So. Anyway.” He managed to say, though his tongue felt thick in his mouth.

“Anyway.” Yuri echoed.

“The point is, uh…”

“The point?” Yuri’s thumb was stroking the back of his hand now, almost absently as if he didn’t realise he was even doing it, and that was just making it even harder to think of what more to say. It was like his entire being was reduced to a hyper-focus on the sensation of Yuri’s hand in his, his thumb sliding over his skin, Yuri’s perfect alabaster skin against Otabek’s sun-worn hands… What were they even talking about anyway? 

“Um.” 

“Inspired. I can’t imagine why people accuse you of being monosyllabic,” Yuri teased, laughter dancing in his beautiful green eyes. Otabek knew he was blushing, but he wasn’t entirely sure he cared at all. 

“Yuri…” he rolled his eyes with a smile, and they shared a quiet chuckle. 

“Say your own name too and we can upgrade you to three syllables,” Yuri grinned. Otabek couldn’t help but laugh at that, recalling his own thoughts reflecting Yuri’s words, back when they first officially met at the marketplace less than two weeks ago. 

He leaned forward, Yuri trapped by the table behind him and forced to lean back when Otabek placed his free hand on its smooth surface. His eyes widened in surprise and Otabek was gratified to see his face pinken too. Well, it was only fair. When Yuri was bent back as far as he could go Otabek was able to lean in to murmur in his ear.

“O-ta-bek,” he kept his voice barely above a whisper, and didn’t miss the way Yuri’s hand trembled in his. Huh. Maybe he wasn’t completely misreading the situation after all. 

_ “Goddess, _ Beka,” Yuri’s throat bobbed as he swallowed when Otabek leaned away, his face a much more satisfying shade of red than it had been moments before. He quirked an eyebrow at the sudden nickname, though he wasn’t particularly upset about it. 

“What, didn’t think I could manage that one?” 

Yuri huffed a breath out through his nose and tossed his head back to get a few stray hairs out of his eyes. 

“Alright, I admit you’re smarter than you look. I guess you’re not just a pretty face after all,” Yuri said, then looked shocked that he’d said it. Otabek couldn’t help but laugh in empathy, his own mouth was doing a lot of the same today, apparently.

“Says the guy who I’m  _ still _ not entirely convinced isn’t some faerie conducting an elaborate scheme to enthrall me,” he smirked.

Yuri hummed and tilted his head from side to side as if contemplating something.

“Hmm, are you really worth enthralling though? I mean, you’re nice to look at but you’re not much of a conversationalist, are you? Unless one particularly likes the words ‘um’ and ‘er,’ I suppose.” 

“Well, I guess you’re not completely wrong, but your options are me or  _ Jean-Jacques Leroy _ so I don’t think it’s really much of a choice, now is it?” Yuri surprised Otabek by resting his head on his shoulder and laughing so hard it shook his body too. Now not only was Yuri still pretty much holding his hand, but since Otabek’s other hand was on the table Yuri was practically in his arms, and it was taking a lot of self-control to keep his brain working properly. Honestly, he’d be more frustrated at how impossible he found it to focus when Yuri was around if he didn’t seem to find it so amusing. 

“Oh Goddess, please, not JJ,” Yuri begged leaning back after a little while and wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. “I mean, a wet fish is a better choice than him, but you really are a much better catch.” 

Otabek stared at him, his mouth held shut solely by clenched teeth. Yuri’s expression was totally open, and he stared back unashamedly. He’d obviously made some sort of decision, and that decision involved flirting with Otabek. Maybe he’d taken leave of his senses, maybe not. Otabek didn’t much care, some things were worth taking risks for. 

“I want to kiss you,” he said frankly, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer.

No sooner had the words left his lips than Yuri’s arms were around his shoulders and he was pulling him in. His lips tasted oddly sweet, like the honey he liked in his tea. Otabek sighed happily, curled his arms around Yuri’s waist, and held on to him. If this was his only chance he was going to take as much as Yuri would give him, though he was beginning to hope it wouldn’t be. It seemed like Yuri felt the same way.

He slid up onto the table and pulled Otabek in with his knees without even taking a moment to breathe. It was like their every meeting had been leading up to this somehow, and now the dam had been broken neither of them were willing to give it time to staunch the flow. Otabek let his hands wander up Yuri’s back to tangle in his long, beautiful hair and felt Yuri’s slender fingertips skate across the short stubble at the back of his own. They sighed into each other’s mouths and just kept kissing, and kissing, and kissing. Minutes, or maybe hours, or years, ticked by, Otabek wasn’t sure. His mind was mostly devoid of anything but needlepoint focus on Yuri’s lips, his hair, his body; the way he tasted and smelled, everything about him was completely intoxicating. He did spare a brief thought that if Yuri  _ was _ truly a faerie prince he would be glad to serve him for as long as he lived, but it was fleeting and gone the second Yuri’s wicked tongue found its way into his mouth. There were worse ways to go. 

Finally they were forced apart by Yuri’s stomach growling, then Otabek’s echoing a moment later. As if she had been waiting patiently for them to come up for air, Potya pushed her way between them and headbutted them both in the chin, clearly also quite ready for her lunch. It was getting late in the afternoon, and in his haste to leave Otabek hadn’t even considered eating anything earlier, so it made sense that they were both ravenous now.

“Should we pick this up again later?” He asked, a little breathlessly. His fingers were still twined around Yuri’s hair, but he managed to disentangle one long enough to touch his face. Yuri seemed a little dazed, but leaned into the touch the way Potya did when you tickled her behind the ear, and Otabek’s cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. No wonder he chose a cat form to shapeshift into, he thought. 

“Mm, I guess,” Yuri stretched languidly, “as long as that means you’re not going anywhere.” His voice was even, but Otabek didn’t miss the flicker of uncertainty on his face. To stall having to say anything, given how his heart stuttered, he leaned down and pressed his lips to the corner of Yuri’s mouth. 

“I would only leave now if you told me to, and even then I would have to say something about mixed messages,” he laughed.

“Mm, that would be rather cruel of me wouldn’t it?” Yuri’s grin was mischievous, but his hand on Otabek’s waist reassured him.

“Do you want me to stay or not?” 

“Yes.” 


	15. Chapter 15

Yuri woke when the first rays of sun slid through the crack in his curtains. He couldn’t exactly say it was the sun that had woken him, though, since Potya was standing on his chest and had put her cold little nose right on his chin. If he didn’t get up and feed her soon she would start licking his face, and while most people found it cute when he told them about it, her sandpaper tongue had removed enough layers of skin that he no longer agreed. Unfortunately, there was another problem with him getting up right now. Otabek’s arm was slung across his body at just enough of a difficult angle that he would be hard pressed to slip out from under it without waking him. And despite Potya, he didn’t really want to. 

With the weak morning light casting shadows across his face, he looked as ethereal as he’d been swearing Yuri did all last night. In fact, it turned out Otabek was quite the talker where Yuri’s looks were concerned. His face warmed at the memory of all the honeyed words Otabek had used to praise him, it was a little embarrassing to be told how beautiful you were over and over again, after all. It was only tolerable, really, because he could tell how earnestly Otabek meant it. It wasn’t like the way JJ complimented him, which somehow felt more like a compliment of himself for noticing, but rather an expression of wonderment that someone so amazing could exist on the same planet as him. At least that’s how it felt to Yuri. It was a shame Otabek didn’t realise that he was equally beautiful, though perhaps in a different way. 

He was beautiful the way the forest was beautiful. He wasn’t perfect, he didn’t have Yuri’s fae-like etherealness to him. Rather, he was wild and untamed, his flaws only served to make him more appealing. The way he could lift a full-grown man like Yuri as if he was made of the lightest gossamer, and yet moved through Yuri’s home with the grace of a dancer, was incredible to say the least. Yuri made a mental note to tell him all these things when he woke up. For now, though, he had a cat to feed and she was getting increasingly impatient while he admired his sleeping lover. 

“Shh, I’m getting up,” he hissed when she opened her mouth, and she leapt down from the bed now that she was satisfied that he wasn’t going to just roll into Otabek’s arms and go back to sleep. Not that the temptation wasn’t there, but he wanted to let him sleep as long as possible even if that meant leaving his warmth and feeding his asshole cat. 

While he was up he decided he might as well make them something to eat and drink, though he had no intention of letting Otabek get up for it. After yesterday… well, he felt like a fool for behaving as he did, and then not only had Otabek forgiven him, but then everything else had happened as well. He hadn’t let himself hope that Otabek would want him back, would want to stay, and had reluctantly accepted that the moment the door swung shut behind him would be the last he’d ever see of him. But he’d come back, demanded his attention, and then kissed him so sweetly he thought maybe he’d died or was dreaming. 

Potya’s claws in his calf reminded him that he was in the middle of something, though he would have happily daydreamed about kissing Otabek for a good while longer. 

“Fine, fine, here’s your food, can I go now your majesty?” He bowed low to her mockingly, though the look she gave him suggested that he should show her the proper respect more often. With a short cry she released him from his servitude, and he quickly put together some things for himself and Otabek before hurrying back upstairs. 

Otabek was out of bed and already half dressed by the time he pushed the door open, and Yuri felt a moment of panic. Was he leaving? Had he just been a pity fuck before Otabek left for good? Was it–

Otabek turned, and his face broke into such a broad smile when he saw Yuri that the moment of panic was lost. He wasn’t leaving, he was going to look for Yuri, and probably didn’t want to walk around the house unclothed in case Yuri had been woken by an urgent patient. 

“Potya wanted breakfast, I thought you might as well.” He shrugged, the explanation probably unnecessary given how laden his arms were. 

“Thank you Yuri, I was just coming to see if you wanted something too.” 

Otabek allowed him to steer him back to the bed and the two of them settled themselves on top of Yuri’s precious comforter. Yuri laid out the food while Otabek poured them both some tea, and then they ate together in companionable silence. Yuri loved that about Otabek. He could talk for hours about all sorts of things, but sometimes he was just as happy as Yuri to simply enjoy each other’s company without saying anything. He would have been happy with a little chit chat, actually, but he found he just couldn’t find any words he wanted to say. Or, at least, nothing he felt he was ready to say. He couldn’t deny, though, that he was very quickly falling for Otabek. He supposed it had been happening gradually all this time, maybe even since Otabek had refused to kill the fawns in the forest, but it felt so, so fast. When the two of them had broken their fast and Yuri moved the remains of their meal to the table, Otabek pulled him back down onto the bed and wrapped him in his arms. He would have thought Otabek had fallen back to sleep, except that his fingertips were continually tracing patterns on his arm and back as if he was unable to keep still. Yuri waited, wanted to see what Otabek would do next.

“I can’t believe…” Otabek chuckled, “all of this, really.” Yuri smiled into his chest, then nipped him just hard enough to sting. “Ouch! What was that for!” Otabek didn’t sound upset, just confused, and he ran teasing fingers over the ticklish area on Yuri’s side that he’d found last night.

“Well, now you know you’re definitely awake,” Yuri answered with an impish grin, leaning up to look at him. 

“Mm, I don’t know, you should probably remind me,” Otabek leaned up to kiss him, and Yuri took his kisses greedily. 

“Urgh, I probably  _ should _ get up and do some work though,” Yuri grumbled after a while, remembering that he hadn’t been able to see any patients for days due to the storm. Besides that, there was something else he would need to see to before much longer.

“Hey, so, I know it’s a little soon for us to think about anything, uh, official. But if you’re going to be sticking around a while, can I…” he frowned, trying to think of the best way to phrase what he was trying to say.

“Please tell anyone you like that you’re off the market,” Otabek correctly guessed what he was trying to say, “I’m not a jealous man, but I’d like to get to keep you all to myself if I can. Besides,” his tone turned teasing, “I  _ did _ get the key.” 

“I mean, I  _ let _ you get the key,” Yuri admonished, taking an opportunity to nip Otabek’s lip lightly.

“Well that’s what Viktor wanted you to do anyway, you just let the wrong person get it.” 

“I very much think I let the  _ right _ person get it, thank you very much.”

Otabek rubbed their noses together in a gesture of affection that had Yuri blushing all over again, but he couldn't really complain when he was doing something so sweet. Yuri had never really had a lover who treated him this way, someone who made him feel like all the things they said were really true, and it was intoxicating.

"Anyway, the point being, you don't need to worry about me not wanting you to tell people, or that I won't be here when you come back. I'm sticking around for, well," he looked a little uncomfortable for a moment, but soldiered bravely on regardless, "for the time being at least. I can't promise you that I'll stay forever, but right now there's nowhere in the world I would rather be than with you."

Yuri marvelled at him, at how he managed to say just the right thing to reassure him even though he must be feeling just as much uncertainty himself.

"Alright then, but I'd better get going soon or it'll take me all day. Unless..." he frowned at Otabek for a moment, but decided to take some of his courage, "you'd like to come with me. I mean, you don't have to, but I wouldn't mind the company and it'll be easier to explain to people if you're actually around."

"I'd love to Yuri," Otabek answered, as free with his time as he was with his affection, now that he was allowed to be affectionate.

Which was how Yuri ended up walking around town introducing Otabek to basically everyone. He'd only intended to go around and check on all his patients, he'd meant to be quick actually. But once the first family had spent several minutes asking him questions about Otabek, and once a few of his former suitors had pounced on them and started demanding to know what was going on, he realised he was going to have to do more than just a quick round.

Apparently in just the few days since he and Otabek had fled the disaster that was one of Viktor's family meals, and they were  _ always _ a disaster no matter what Viktor said, JJ had been moping around town complaining that someone had beaten Yuri's challenge and that he was no longer in the running to be Yuri's new spouse. Not that he had ever been, but he was fucking deluded at the best of times, in Yuri's opinion. Which was, of course, the only on that mattered when it came to JJ. So of course since the town was basically locked down during these bad storms everyone had nothing better to do than gossip. The buildings were largely close enough together to run from one to another even in the worst of the weather, so news had spread fast, and everyone was apparently waiting for the two of them to emerge from Yuri's home to... something. Either explain themselves, in the case of some of Yuri's more enthusiastic suitors, or just be there ready to be congratulated in the case of most of the rest of the townspeople.

What Yuri hadn't realised was that even despite his antisocial nature and tendency to snap at people unashamedly if they were annoying him, he was actually quite popular in town. Most people considered him a friendly acquaintance at worst, and he was beginning to learn that many of them had been following his courtship woes with quite a great deal of sympathy. So when they heard that his 'search,' not that he had in any way been looking for anyone, thank you very much, was over they were all too eager to express their happiness for him. Although that being said, there were a few older folks who took Otabek aside while Yuri was busy and Otabek told him later that he had been given strict instructions to treat him well, and it seemed several people had even gone so far as to threaten him with bodily harm should he mistreat their favourite young man. Yuri found this hilarious, given that he would be the first in line to defend himself if anyone should ever try to mistreat him.

It was that fact that made JJ an even less favourable option, truth be told. Yuri wasn't a complete idiot, and it wasn't  _ just _ that he found JJ brash and obnoxious and egotistical. Not that those weren't all perfectly good enough reasons in Yuri's opinion for him not to marry someone. But he also was well aware of JJ's position as a prince, and his relationship with Katsuki's country of Hasetsu. Had JJ ever mistreated him, if Yuri had been convinced to marry him in the first place, he would have... well, Yuri tried not to imagine what he would have done, but he knew it wouldn't be good, and that it would almost certainly have affected Hasetsu's treaties with Toronto. And as much as Yuri was at loggerheads with Viktor all the time, he did actually like Katsuki, he would even grudgingly admit that he liked Viktor, so he didn't want to put them in that uncomfortable position.

Viktor himself was noticeably absent from the constant stream of praise from the townsfolk. Even JJ showed up, late in the afternoon, to clap Yuri on the back and congratulate him.

"No hard feelings?" He seemed almost desperate for Yuri to agree with him, so Yuri nodded and smiled and allowed JJ to pretend, even if just for this one moment, that they were something resembling friends. He could always put him back in his place later, if he needed to.

Viktor, on the other hand, was either holed up working hard, or was just plain ignoring Yuri. It had only been a few days since they fought, and Viktor had a long memory for grudges, so Yuri wouldn't have been surprised either way. He knew he would have to patch things up with him sooner or later, but he was content to let it lie for now. Viktor was a force to be reckoned with at the best of times, and some of Yuri's most productive weeks had been when Viktor was too pissed at him to interfere with his life. Right now what Yuri wanted to focus on the most was nurturing the sprout of a relationship that he had somehow managed to get a shot at with Otabek. The last thing he wanted was for his foolish cousin to come along and ruin it all for him.

It was late into the night when they finally got back to Yuri's little house, and Potya made it clear that she was mad at them for not coming back sooner and feeding her. They were so exhausted from all the attention that they barely even registered it, though, and as soon as she had been seen to the pair of them collapsed in Yuri's bed and fell straight to sleep. They would have all the time in the world tomorrow to make her feel better about being left behind, but for now they needed to rest.

Viktor's absence was short-lived, and they didn't get the opportunity to wake up in their own time the following morning like they had before. Otabek shot up, nearly knocking Yuri to the floor, when a loud pounding sounded on Yuri's front door and startled him awake. It was late enough in the morning that the sun had fully risen, which only made clear how exhausted they had both been the night before since they were both usually very early risers. Viktor didn't seem to care though, since he was banging and calling in that irritating fashion that often made Yuri want to deafen himself somehow just so he would never have to hear it again. He muttered something about committing a murder and climbed out of bed, stomping down the stairs loudly so Viktor would know he was awake, and he was  _ pissed. _ He heard Otabek follow him, though more slowly, and made sure to take a deep breath before he opened the door so that he didn't immediately punch Viktor's lights out.

To nobody's surprise, as soon as the banging stopped Yuri could hear Katsuki lecturing Viktor about being too over the top, or something to that effect, and that went a long way towards soothing Yuri's ire. If there was one thing he had known for a long time now, it was that Katsuki Yuri was in his corner. No matter how much he indulged Viktor in other aspects of his life, and Goddess knew he must do if the things Yuri heard were even partly true, when it came to Yuri he was surprisingly strict. Though, Viktor was a force of nature, so Yuri didn't hold it against him that he couldn't head his husband off before he did stupid things like this.

"Viktor, so nice of you to show up, unannounced, as usual," he said flatly the moment he opened the door.

"Yuuuuriiiiii!" Viktor wailed and threw himself into Yuri's arms. He wasn't crying, exactly, but his face was damp in a way that suggested he had been, or maybe was about to. "I heard the news about you, it's all over town! JJ is  _ devastated _ but he'll be fine, I can't believe you didn't come to tell me first!"

Yuri frowned at him and pushed him away, though he stepped back to let the two of them in. Otabek, behind him, was already putting the kettle over the fire and getting some cups out to make tea. He must know Yuri would be hungry, he was always ravenous when he woke up, so it didn't surprise Yuri at all that he followed the teacups with some of his leftover bread rolls and an assortment of things to put on them. Yuri managed to herd Viktor and Katsuki to the table, though it was a near thing when Viktor saw Otabek busying himself and seemed about ready to do... something. Yuri wasn't sure if he was going to hug him or hit him, truthfully.

"That's so adorably domestic, Yuri!" Ah, hug him was probably the safest bet then. Viktor actually sounded pleased, in that soggy sort of way he got when his ridiculous emotions overwhelmed him. Goddess only knew how Katsuki put up with him, though Yuri guessed that he probably liked all that sappy shit. He was glad Otabek wasn't the type to do things like that.

"What else is he going to do, he doesn't know you. Besides, you woke us up, I'm starving. What do you want?" Viktor, to his credit, had the good grace to look embarrassed.

"Ah, I'm sorry Yuri! I just couldn't wait until you decided you wanted to come and talk to us about all this," Viktor whined, "I know we left things badly the other night so I thought you might still be upset with me, and I didn't want to wait for you to come around. I wanted to congratulate you!"

"I just barely managed to talk him out of throwing you a huge party, Yuri," Katsuki added, solemnly.

"Thank fuck for that, it would have been embarrassing for him to throw a party and the guests of honour not show up," Yuri rolled his eyes, but passed Viktor a filled teacup so he knew there were no hard feelings.

"Hey, now, I might have enjoyed a party," Otabek said with a wink, "and it might have been fun to show up without you an– wait, no then I'd have to field all the questions. Never mind, I'm out." He vanished into the pantry as if to demonstrate his dedication to dodging awkward questions.

"I know," Viktor complained morosely, drawing the word out, "I wish you were more social, Yuri, but I suppose this will have to do."

"To be fair, he  _ wanted _ to come at dawn, but he restrained himself, so you should probably thank him for that," Katsuki smiled at his husband and Yuri really hoped he never looked at Otabek that way.

"Anyway! We  _ do _ have one small party to plan," Viktor looked like Potya when she'd gotten into something of Yuri's that she wasn't supposed to be eating. Yuri frowned, confused as to why he was being involved. "Your wedding of course!" Viktor clapped his hands, clearly delighted.

"Uh... we're not actually," Yuri began, eyeing Otabek who had returned with the honey pot. He shrugged, not really helping Yuri figure out what he was going to say next. Did that mean he didn't care if people thought they were getting married, or that he didn't mind Yuri saying they weren't getting married, or something else? He must have seen the panic on Yuri's face though, because he stepped forward to lay a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"We're not thinking about that yet."

"But... didn't you get the key from Potya?" Viktor looked back and forth between them, head tilted in confusion.

"Yes, but I wasn't exactly  _ competing _ for it. And we both want to make sure this is what we want before we make anything more, ah, permanent." He shrugged as if this was a completely understandable explanation – and to any sane person it would be, but Yuri knew Viktor wasn't exactly normal. True to form his eyes got all watery again, and Yuri braced himself for his childish wailing. Honestly, he was a grown fucking man, why he cried at every little thing was beyond him.

"I'm not saying we won't ever, but I think getting engaged or married three days into a relationship is a little bit soon, don't you?" Otabek was, as ever, the calm voice of reason, and Yuri hoped that Viktor would understand, though he didn't hold out much hope.

"I knew that I wanted to marry  _ my _ Yura right away," he said obstinately, and Yuri rolled his eyes while Viktor sighed dramatically, "but I suppose not everyone can meet someone as wonderful as my husband. Okay, I suppose you can wait. It just gives me more time to plan the party!"

"Don't you dare, if we decide on anything like that – and we might not! But if we do then you  _ will _ let us organise anything we want to, and you  _ will _ be a good cousin and support us, won't you?" It was more of a statement than a question, but Yuri knew that by throwing the 'cousin' in there Viktor would probably promise him the moon. It might not work out in practice, but it would at least get him off their back for a while.

"Oh Yuri, of course we will support you! Now there was just one more thing I wanted to talk to you about, if you can spare us just a little more of your time." Viktor reached into the pocket of the fine silk jacket he was wearing, styled after the summer attire of Katsuki's home country of Hasetsu, and withdrew a thick packet of papers. "This is the document that names you our heir. At least for now we want to make sure if anything happens to us you're taken care of." He held up a hand as Yuri began to protest.

"I heard what you said before. I know you don't want to live in the manor or watch over the town, and I've made adjustments accordingly. But Yuri, we wanted to do this for you. I won't make you sign it right now, you can read it and make sure you're happy with everything. And, ah, I suppose you can leave the 'spouse' field blank..." he tried his puppy dog eyes on Otabek again, but he was unmoved and Viktor sagged in defeat.

"That's enough now, Vitya, don't you remember how we were when we met? The last thing we wanted was my family intruding on us while we were getting to know each other. Let's go home, okay? You have work to do anyway." Katsuki stood and pulled Viktor to his feet, and Yuri leapt to his after a moment, realising he should probably be polite. At least in front of Otabek, at least for now. Katsuki surprised him then by pulling him into a hug, enveloping him in those wide sleeves of his. "We really are so happy for you, Yura, he seems like a wonderful man," he mumbled into Yuri's ear so quietly Yuri wasn't entirely sure he'd heard him at all when he pulled away.

After a long round of farewells, which were more standard for Viktor than Yuri's usual method of fleeing at the first opportunity, Viktor and Katsuki finally left and Yuri locked the door behind them with a groan.

"Sorry, he's a lot I know."

"He just cares about you, Yuri."

"Don't remind me," Yuri threw himself back into his chair and attacked his food with gusto, now ravenous after barely having a chance to eat a thing while trying to fend off Viktor. Otabek smiled at him, but didn't press the issue. At least  _ one _ of the men in his life knew when to shut the fuck up. 


	16. Epilogue

"Morning Beka!" Leo called as Otabek passed, up early as always. Otabek waved back as he usually did, though he was even more reluctant to stop and chat than usual today. 

He'd been living with Yuri for almost a year now, though he had offered many times to find his own place in town or go back to his camp in the woods. Yuri wouldn't hear of it and had started taking great offence to the suggestion whenever Otabek made it. Their relationship wasn't conventional anyway, why should they do things in the same order as everyone else? Leo's husband Guang Hong had moved in barely a week after they met, too, or so Yuri had told him, so it wasn't really  _ that _ unusual. In fact, the longer he lived here the more Otabek was coming to realise that he and Yuri weren't so strange after all. It sometimes felt like every person in town had their own quirks, their own odd little foibles that were unlike anything he'd come across in his travels. Whether it was Phichit showing up at the market with a trio of hamsters up his sleeves, or Emil the blacksmith's collection of fine metal prosthetics that hung on the wall of his shop, almost nothing in town was quite what it seemed.

What was equally bizarre was how many of the residents weren't even from Petersburg to begin with. Oh plenty were, and more were being born all the time, but there were an unusual number of people who had moved  _ in _ to the town from other places, much like Otabek himself had. Some had met partners while they travelled and come back here with them, while others had simply settled here seemingly of their own accord. It made the town's residents a diverse and interesting bunch. Which, Otabek mused, was probably why he had stayed here for so long already. If it had just been a normal boring town he would probably have asked Yuri to come away with him, but since everyone here was so interesting his wanderlust was sated by the constant stories others would tell him. It wasn't the same as experiencing it for himself, but every time he thought of going off to do just that he would think of Yuri, and his heard would skip a beat, and seeing it first hand just didn't see all that important anymore. 

"Beka!" Mila called to him from the doorway of her shop, "you're late." 

"Sorry Mila, Yuri needed me to help him with something and I couldn't get away." She cocked an eyebrow at him, clearly not believing his story, which was fair. He'd used that excuse even when he and Yuri had just spent the morning fooling around, and she was probably never going to believe him again. This time it was true, but that didn't really matter a great deal. 

"Get in here you idiot," she laughed, cuffing him on the shoulder with enough force for him to know she was serious. 

He was too. 

Otabek wasn't out on a morning stroll for fun. He was on a mission. The town had been filling up for weeks with people from all over, each of them preparing for the travelling fair that would be arriving tomorrow. Nikolai Plisetsky, Yuri's grandfather, would be arriving the same day, though from the other direction, and Otabek had been preparing for his visit for weeks. He wanted everything to be perfect for Nikolai, and for Yuri too. This might be the most important meeting of Otabek's life, not counting meeting Yuri, of course. 

"Is everything ready?" Otabek asked Mila as soon as the door closed behind them, the little 'Closed' sign hanging merrily in the window. She snorted and led him through the racks of clothes to the office in the back. 

"No, Beka, I've just been sitting here with my thumb up my backside ever since you asked for my help," she snorted, "what do you think?" 

"I think I know why Yuri likes you so much," he grinned back. 

From the drawer in her workbench Mila produced a small wooden box and tossed it to him. He was glad he had good reflexes or he might have dropped it. She handed over an envelope too, which obviously wouldn't fly through the air quite so cleanly as the box would. He put the box down on the side carefully, and opened the letter first.

_ Dear Beka, _

_ Son, you have no idea how happy I was to hear from you! You write so rarely I was beginning to think you had forgotten how. Your mother and I are doing well, and Sofia recently took on a new job in the city with her partner. Did you know she's pregnant? I don't suppose you would, we never know where you are to write you back and tell you, but she is! She's overjoyed, of course, she and Sasha have been trying for such a long time. They've not decided on any names yet, but we will let you know as soon as we do if they come up with anything. Last time I spoke to Sasha they said they were probably going to wait until the baby comes and decide then, there are just too many names they both like to try and narrow it down sooner. Obviously we can't wait until our little grandchild arrives! You must be sure and bring Yuri with you to visit once they're born, understand? I know everyone will be so pleased to see you, and to meet your young man. I know you were writing for a purpose, though, so I won't tell you all about the rest of the family this time. Expect another letter from me soon though!  _

_ So, speaking of Yuri, your mother and I could hardly believe it when we got your letter, and your request. Naturally we are as delighted for you as we are for Sofia and Sasha, this truly has been the year for good news for us! I remember when– _

_ Your mother made me get to the point, she says you don't want to read any more of my waffling. I think my waffling is charming, but there we go. Anyway, you will find enclosed what you asked us for. Please take it with our blessing, and we hope it brings you the same good fortune it brought us.  _

_ We love you son, come and visit us soon.  _

_ Love,  _

_ Dad _

Otabek swallowed the lump in his throat then folded the letter neatly, squirrelling it away in his pocket for later reviewing. Now was not the time to start getting sentimental or homesick. He loved his parents, but he loved his life here too. And most importantly of all, he loved Yuri. But he could tell him until he was blue in the face, he could tell him for the rest of his  _ life, _ but what he wanted to do now more than anything was  _ show _ him. Picking up the little box, he opened it and smiled at the contents.

"So, everything good?" Mila asked him, having patiently waited while he read his letter.

"Everything's perfect Mila, I owe you one." Otabek couldn't keep the grin from his face, and decided to indulge. He was going to have to keep his expression guarded for at least one more day. 

"You owe me more than that, you little shit, do you know how far Almaty is? And how hard it was to convince Yuri that I was leaving for literally any reason other than the real one? I've got saddle sores on my saddle sores." He knew she was complaining out of love, so he didn't let himself feel too guilty about it.

"Considering I walked here from Almaty via several other countries, yeah I'm pretty familiar with the distance," he laughed, "but seriously, I appreciate it. Next time I have something really special I will make sure you're the first to know."

"Yeah, you better," she answered sternly, "now get the fuck out of my shop, I've got weeks of work to catch up on." 

Box and letter safely tucked away in his pocket, Otabek went to run the errand he had promised Yuri he was running, and stopped by Leo's bakery to get some breakfast for the two of them. 

Normally he would make something himself, there had been a little bit of a friendly rivalry between him and Leo ever since Leo had found out he could bake, and it was a matter of pride that he could provide fresh bread and baked goods for himself and Yuri without  _ needing _ to buy them. But sometimes he just didn't have time, and besides which he'd never really gotten the hang of pirozhki. Today, though, he was trying to save time. He'd be able to quickly pick something up from Leo and feed them both while running his side-errand and not arousing too much suspicion, so it had to be done.

It was a busy day for them both, in the end. Since he was no longer relying on selling exotic skins to keep himself alive Otabek had started assisting Yuri with a lot of his work instead. He still went out to hunt, again it was a matter of pride, but also he just plain liked being outside and spending all his time cooped up indoors made him stir crazy. But often he could be found working diligently alongside Yuri, or being sent out to collect some herb Yuri was running low on that only the two of them seemed able to easily find. Today he was in the workshop with Yuri, though, since he planned on taking several days off while his grandfather visited so had promised to make sure his patients had plenty of whatever they needed to keep them healthy for a few days, as well as a little more to give to Yakov so that fewer people would come and bother him directly if they really needed something. Yuri had given Yakov  _ very _ strict instructions that he only wanted to be disturbed in an emergency, and Otabek had quietly mentioned the same to Lilia, his wife, since Yakov probably couldn't tell an emergency from a hole in the ground without her, in Otabek's opinion.

By the time they were done it was very late, and Potya was stalking around demanding someone pay attention to her  _ right now _ or she will  _ definitely die _ from neglect. Otabek had gotten better at understanding her under Yuri's careful instruction, but really all that meant was that she had one more person in the house who didn't easily give in to her demands. Sometimes Otabek teased her that she was more melodramatic than Viktor, which usually earned him a few hours' peace while she sulked about it. Tonight though, they collapsed into bed all in a pile, and were asleep in minutes. 

Otabek woke to an empty bed, but that wasn't unexpected. Yuri had this nervous energy, he'd noticed, that meant when something really important was going to happen he woke long before dawn and had to put that energy to use somewhere. If he wasn't in his workshop he was in cat form hunting in the forest, sometimes he even cooked although he largely left that to Otabek these days. It wasn't that he was bad at it, he just wasn't  _ as _ good, so he didn't mind leaving that to someone else. Today he was nowhere to be found, and neither was Potya, so Otabek assumed the two of them were off hunting mice or something. That was lucky for him, since it meant that he could begin to make his plans without being disturbed. He only had a short window of time before Yuri would return, and Nikolai was due mid-morning so he needed to make the most of it. 

Yuri's energy hadn't been burned off by his dawn hunt, and by the time they stood in the street watching Nikolai's ageing horse drag his wagon up the path Yuri was practically vibrating with anticipation. He had just about managed to resist the urge to run down to him, but that was mostly due to the fact that the poor old horse would only have to carry the both of them back anyway, so he might as well wait. Otabek felt much the same, though, and it took a lot of self-control to hold Yuri's trembling hand while containing it. Fortunately he would be able to pass it off as nerves about finally meeting Nikolai, but he would prefer not to have to make excuses if he didn't have to. 

After what felt like an age had passed Nikolai finally pulled up beside them and climbed down from the cart. The plan was for Otabek to drive it back to Yuri's house to allow the two of them a few moments to catch up. First things first, though, introductions.

Yuri threw himself on his grandfather with the enthusiasm of a boy ten years younger, then sheepishly backed off when Nikolai complained about his back pain. 

"Sorry grandpa, I always forget," he said, and he  _ sounded _ younger too, somehow. Otabek supposed he would probably sound the same when they finally spent time with his family. 

"I know, Yurotchka, but I'm not getting any younger no matter how many times you forget. Now, let me get a good look at your young man before you cripple me completely," Nikolai was smiling, and he beckoned to Otabek to step forward. 

"It's nice to finally meet you, sir," he said, somehow miraculously not forgetting his manners. He almost bowed –perils of spending too much time around Katsuki– but managed to avoid it. 

"You'll call me Niko, son, or grandpa if you prefer. Sir was my father, and he didn't much like it either." Nikolai grinned and he looked so much like Yuri for an instant that if there had ever been any doubt about their relation there wasn't any longer. 

"Alright, Niko," Otabek held out his hand to shake and Nikolai took it, before pulling him into a hug. Otabek swallowed another lump of homesickness in his throat. The people of this town were kind, but this was the first time he'd felt treated like family by anyone who wasn't Yuri. "How was your journey?" 

"Oh, fine, fine. It's not so far. This old gal has a few more years in her yet," he beamed at the sullen old horse, who nickered back at him. "You know you love me, Sweetie, don't be mean." He turned back to Otabek and smiled, handing over the reins, "treat her nicely now, son, she's a good girl." 

"She's brought you safely here for years, so she must be," Yuri teased, linking his arm with his grandfather's. 

"I'll take care of her as if she were Potya," Otabek promised, "I'll see you both back at the house." 

With that he hauled himself up into the driver's seat of the small wagon and shook the reins gently. "Let's go, Sweetie, we've got some tasty treats waiting for you because we know you've had such a long journey." Sweetie snorted, but got moving anyway. 

Once Sweetie was safely unhitched and enjoying a meal of fresh vegetables that Otabek and Yuri had painstakingly chosen for her, Otabek brought Nikolai's things inside and put them in his room. Now it was time for him to organise his  _ own _ things, since he didn't want to delay things any longer than he absolutely had to.

It wasn't until after dinner that he had an opportunity to get Nikolai alone. Yuri had attached himself to his grandfather's side and even if the thought had occurred to him, Otabek couldn't possibly have pulled him away for anything like a petty errand. Fortunately, after he'd eaten Nikolai retired to the sitting room to read and 'let you young folks clean up.' This was Otabek's chance, and he volunteered to take Nikolai some tea with the vague reasoning of getting to know him a little better. Yuri beamed at him and agreed, insisting he would handle the clean up. He desperately wanted his two favourite people to get along. 

"Ah, Beka, is that for me?" Nikolai asked when Otabek toed the door open with a tea tray. 

He nodded in assent and put the tray on the table carefully, taking a moment to pour them both a cup of tea. 

"I'm sensing you have something you'd like to say to me." Nikolai put his book down and took the offered cup, lifting it to his nose to breathe in the fragrant steam. "I hope this isn't some archaic request for Yuri's hand, I know you've both been planning the wedding for months." 

Otabek looked up at him, shocked. "No, no, nothing like that. I'd  _ like _ you to be happy for me to marry him, but I'm going to do it either way. I love him." 

"Good, he deserves someone who is proud to say that." 

Otabek ducked his head, but was more embarrassed about the praise than anything. "Any sensible person would be. But yes, I did have a reason to talk to you. Or, rather, something to give you." Taking a deep breath, he withdrew the little box from his pocket and handed it over. Nikolai looked at him curiously, and opened the box.

"It's been in my family for generations. When one of us gets engaged we give it to a parent of our betrothed, or their closest living relative. It always finds its way back to us later, somehow." 

From the box Nikolai withdrew a metal cloak pin fashioned in the shape of a tree within a circle. It wasn't terribly ornate or fancy, no jewels encrusted its surface. In fact, it was really rather plain. But when one looked at it closely you could tell it had been made by a master craftsman. 

"It's considered to be good luck for the couple," Otabek continued, knowing it sounded silly and superstitious, but it had worked for his parents and his sister, and somehow had returned to his parents before he found Yuri, so he felt like he was meant to give it to Nikolai. He hadn't even thought of it in years until he and Yuri agreed to marry, and then it was  _ all _ he could think about. 

"You know this has fae magic in it, then?" Nikolai asked him solemnly, turning it over almost reverently in his hands.

Otabek blinked stupidly at him. "It has what now?" 

"Someone in your heritage must have either had a faerie bless this pin, or possibly received it as a wedding gift. That's why it's so lucky, and why your family never loses it even though it is gifted outside the family. It's beautiful, I'm proud to accept it. Although, you probably could have given it to Viktor, he's Yuri's relative too." 

Otabek couldn't shake his head fast enough, the thought of giving it to Viktor felt viscerally wrong somehow. Nikolai nodded with a knowing smile - this pin was  _ meant _ to come to him. 

"Well then, I'll leave you to your book. It's going to be a busy few days with the fair and all, let's take this time to relax while we've got it." 

"Indeed. And Beka?" 

Otabek turned back to him in the doorway, "hm?" 

"Thank you." 

“No need, I’m glad to be joining your family, Nikolai.” He smiled, and left the old man to it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, forgive me, but I completely gave up trying to proofread this today! I've read and re-read it all so much that I'm just going cross-eyed trying to figure out what's wrong with it ^^; So please forgive me for any typos, or if the story starts making less and less sense! I was very much under the pump trying to finish by the deadline, so a lot of it was just me bashing the keyboard and hoping what I wrote came out okay... I did edit as I went along, but there may still be typos and things in there, feel free to point them out! 
> 
> Thank you for coming on this journey with me, please make sure you go and give a lot of love to my incredible artist! I hope you enjoyed this silly little fairy tale :)


	17. BONUS CHAPTER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, I wasn't going to write anything else on this fic, but then I thought it might be fun to have a little bonus chapter for you all to have a bit of extra world-building information! Since I did actually put a little bit of thought into it, even if most of it didn't go into the actual fic xD

** I. Magic **

Magic in this world is very common, most people have a little bit of magic! Non-magic users are very rare, and are actually quite sought after for certain things. I'll go into that later!

Most people use magic quite often for small things such as communication, lighting fires or heating food, or things related to their work. A lot of people go into jobs specifically because they have a relevant magic affinity that will help them do it. For example, Leo is a baker because his magic affinity is fire, which allows him to handle hot baked goods without oven gloves. Magic isn't restricted to specific elements, though, and people often develop affinities for things they enjoy as a hobby. I based a lot of this on Tamora Pierce's incredible Circle of Magic series! I love the idea of task-specific magic, like metalwork or threadcraft. This is why Yuri and Otabek use magic in their day to day lives without really thinking about it. 

Magic users like Yuri that can shapeshift or do 'higher' types of magic are less common, though still not as rare as people who can't use magic at all. That's why Otabek doesn't immediately recognise that Yuri could be a shapeshifter, because he doesn't come across higher magic users like him very often, even though he has shapeshifters in his family. Incidentally, Viktor is also a higher magic user! He's not able to shapeshift, but does have other powers! I... haven't really though about what those would be though xD Since it wasn't really relevant I didn't bother, but I do believe he would be also. It would probably have something to do with diplomacy since that's what he does! Feel free to make suggestions on what you think it might be, even though I don't really intend on having Viktor feature heavily in any sequel I may or may not do. >.> 

On to non-magic users! They tend to be very resistant to magic altogether. This is another idea that I filched from elsewhere, the excellent webcomic Yosh! https://www.yoshsaga.com/comic/introduction/ The idea of magic-resistance in a magical world is really fascinating, and if I ever do a follow-up I might explore this concept in greater detail, probably not though. Essentially, in this world non-magic users who have a resistance to magic are able to either nullify or be immune to magic used on them. This is just something that happens, and isn't a conscious thing. As a result they are highly sought after for things like Royal Advisors, because they can't be enspelled to betray their liege and so on. A lot of these people are tagged for these jobs from very early on in their lives, since this usually presents from birth. A lot of people use magic during the birth process (magical midwives! \o/) so this is picked up quickly. I suppose it could even be picked up while they're in utero, if it maybe nullified the pregnant parent's own magic, but I didn't really think it through that far - I just thought of that right now as I am writing this xD 

** II. Society **

The society in this fic is kind of my idea of a somewhat middle-ages-esque, generic fantasy world, that doesn't have the same sort of prejudices that our own world has. It still has _some_ things, like the whole Nobility/Commoner class divides, but that just happened to fit the story I wanted to write. It is easier/more possible for 'commoners' to become 'nobility' in this world, but it still doesn't happen all that often. 

However, they have very liberal ideas on things like gender and sexuality. Same-sex relationships are common and normal, and gender identity is something that isn't assigned at birth. Some of you who were sharp-eyed may have noticed that in the letter Beka's dad sends him! This means that everyone is just allowed to decide their own pronouns at any point in their life, even if it changes from what they preferred in the past, and everyone just accepts it. I decided I wanted to make it like the canon universe where things like same-sex relationships were just normal and accepted. This was largely because having to make it A Thing would have meant more effort on my part and this fic was already getting WAYYY out of hand.

Despite the apparent segregation of the classes with the 'Upper Circle' area of the town, this doesn't mean that nobility and commoners are fully segregated. They mingle as much or as little as they like, and JJ's dig at Otabek about not meeting 'lower' people often was really just that. He's actually shown to be comfortable in the Lower Circle during the chase, and while he does tend to be a little bit more aloof than most nobles that's not a common things. Most nobility in this world will work alongside commoners and have friendships across the classes. There's obviously still some big differences; nobles tend to be richer and have an easier life, don't tend to have to work for a living, their class is inherited, etc, but in interpersonal relationships their class differences aren't often taken into account/aren't usually a barrier. At least in this part of the world! There may be other places where it is, but we're not exploring that right now! 

** III. Towns, Cities, and Countries **

You may have noticed that the places in this fic are, sometimes loosely, named after the towns the people are from. For example, Toronto and Hasetsu are countries rather than cities within their greater countries of Japan and Canada. 

I considered using the normal country names, but I decided in the end that it would be easier to make it clear that they're living in an alternative universe rather than Earth in a different time. The way things work in this world, in my head, is that each place is a type of province and those that are large enough can become kingdoms in their own right. Towns in a single region can band together and create a kingdom (or a democracy, or whatever they want), or if they're more isolated but have a lot of land they can declare themselves ~whatever~. It's a little chaotic, but that's how Katsuki Yuri is a Prince, while Viktor is only a minor Lord. He has a lot of land, but not enough to become a King. Since he technically owns the land, or controls it at least, he is 'in charge' in a way, even if he generally defers to the people who actually live or work on the land when it comes to decisions that affect them (or at least asks for their input.) 

Moscow would technically be the 'capital' of the region that Yuri (P) lives in, and it would be a kingdom in its own right, but since where Yuri lives is quite a distance there's no point in folding Petersburg into their kingdom as it would be very difficult to apply their rules to the town. Most places are allowed to self-govern for this reason. 

It's not a very sustainable system in the real world, but since this is fantasy land I am letting it do whatever it wants :D 

** IV. Miscellaneous **

I can't think of anything else to say now! But if there's something you would like to know more about please drop it in the comments and if it's something I've considered, or something I could consider, I will add it here! As long as it doesn't fit under another heading, of course. I'm also happy to elaborate on anything I've written here, to a point, as long as you bear in mind that all of this is just my general musings and what was stuck in my head, not really very fleshed out! I largely came up with most of this on the fly, tucked it in the back of my mind, and didn't necessarily apply it consistently across all the fic ahaha. That's generally how I do things since when I try to do much more world building I tend to get too stuck in to the nitty gritty and never get around to writing the actual story... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <strike>I may possibly write another fic in this universe, either a sequel to this or like an AU of my AU, so please look out for it in case that happens!</strike>

**Author's Note:**

> As always, you can find me on my [fandom tumblr](http://faeryn.tumblr.com) or over on my much quieter [writing tumblr.](http://faerynfics.tumblr.com)


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